The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on Serbian intelligence chief and former defence minister Aleksandar Vulin, accusing him of corruption and drug trafficking.
The pro-Russian head of Serbia’s intelligence services, BIA, “has been implicated in transnational organized crime, illegal narcotics operations, and misuse of public office,” the US Treasury Department said in a statement.
Vulin, who has also served as interior minister, facilitated “the illegal transfer of arms” from Serbian arms dealer Slobodan Tesic, himself already sanctioned by the US, according to the US Treasury. In so doing, he participated in the spread of corruption within Serbia’s governing institutions, it added.
The US also accused Vulin of helping Russia extend its influence in the Balkans, to the detriment of regional security.
The effect of these sanctions is to freeze any of Vulin’s assets under US jurisdiction and to prohibit any transactions with him, particularly banking.
