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After the lifting of sanctions against Antal Rogan, several Balkan politicians hope to have the same luck in getting off the US blacklists. Among them are Dodik, Berisha, Peevski and Goranov. What is happening with lobbying, which companies are engaged...
Since the re-election of Donald Trump as US President, politicians from across Southeast Europe who have been placed under US sanctions have increased their lobbying efforts.
Individuals sanctioned for high-level corruption and/or ties to Russia are optimistic that Trump's return to power meant a new American administration much more sympathetic to their situations.
Their hopes of securing the lifting of sanctions were further boosted when the US State Department confirmed earlier this week that Antal Rogan, a senior aide to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, had been removed from the Treasury sanctions list.
Conservative Orban is one of the European leaders closest ideologically to Trump.
The decision to lift sanctions on Rogan came just three months after he was blacklisted under the Global Magnitsky program for his alleged central role in systemic corruption.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto claimed that the decision was made in the final days of the Biden administration.
After a conversation with his American counterpart Marco Rubio, Szijjarto commented: "a completely new era has begun in Hungarian-American relations, characterized by friendship and complete agreement on key issues."
Hungarian officials are not the only ones in the region hoping for a restoration of relations under Trump.
Shortly after the sanctions against Rogan were lifted, the head of Bulgaria's ruling Gerb party, Boyko Borisov, said he was certain that two Bulgarian politicians, Gerb's Vladislav Goranov and DPS - New Beginning leader Delyan Peevski, would be removed from the list of persons sanctioned under the Magnitsky Act.
"There will come a time when the truth will come out about Peevski and Goranov, as happened in Hungary," Borisov said. He added that he did not know when the two politicians would be removed from the Magnitsky list, but that "a process for this is ongoing."
It has become increasingly evident that Bulgaria's government depends on Peevski's support. Gerb is seeking to include DPS - New Beginning in the government, but faces a fierce backlash from anti-corruption protesters.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, has also increased his lobbying efforts in recent months.
Dodik and his family members have been sanctioned by the US for "their efforts to enrich themselves at the public's expense" as well as "Dodik's continued efforts to undermine the democratic and multiethnic framework that defines today's Bosnia and Herzegovina," a US Treasury statement said on January 17 - three days before Trump officially took office.
The Treasury had previously targeted individuals and entities close to Dodik with sanctions on November 6, 2024. On the same day, the politician donned a red MAGA hat to host a cocktail reception celebrating Trump's victory in the US presidential election.
In January, Republika Srpska signed a contract with Zell & Associates International Advocates LLC, to work on lifting sanctions against Dodik and his family.
Another lobbying contract for Dodik was signed in late March with Rod Blagojevic, director of RRB Strategies. According to the newspaper Capital.ba, the task for Blagojevic's company was to spread the word among US officials that the sanctions against Dodik were politically motivated.
Capital.ba reported in April that Dodik had signed a third contract, this time with the lobbying firm Stokes Strategies LLC, also to lobby for the lifting of the Magnitsky sanctions against him.
Pressure on Dodik is mounting after he was handed a prison sentence in late February and is also subject to a travel ban – which he has consistently defied. A Bosnian state court has asked Interpol to issue an international arrest warrant for the controversial politician.
Another politician believed to be hoping for the lifting of US sanctions against him is the leader of the opposition in Albania, Sali Berisha.
Berisha, a former president and prime minister, was sanctioned for “corrupt acts,” as announced by former US Secretary of State Antony Blinker in May 2021.
He claimed that the sanctions were imposed after lobbying by Prime Minister Edi Rama and billionaire philanthropist George Soros.
As reported by The New York Times, Chris LaCivita, co-manager of Trump's re-election campaign, and Paul Manafort visited Albania in February. According to American media, they were said to be helping Berisha get sanctions lifted.
HuffPost reports that LaCivita's team now also includes Trump pollster Tony Fabrizio and Manafort associate Phil Griffin.
But Berisha's campaign is under time pressure as he urgently needs sanctions lifted before Albania holds general elections on May 11, where he aims to prevent a fourth consecutive victory for the Socialist Party led by Edi Rama. / Pamphlet adapted from IntellNews /
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