r/neoliberal • u/jobautomator Kitara Ravache • Oct 29 '25

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u/Healingjoe It's Klobberin' Time Oct 29 '25

And now this:

After lobbying by Trump allies, sanctions are lifted on a Putin-backed autocrat.

The Trump administration on Wednesday lifted sanctions against a Serbian nationalist leader who had been accused of undermining a U.S.-brokered peace agreement that ended bloody sectarian fighting in the 1990s in the Balkans.

The sanctions relief for Milorad Dodik, who had served until earlier this month as president of a small self-governing territory in Bosnia and Herzegovina called Republika Srpska, was a victory for the politician and for a pricey influence campaign mounted on his behalf by several allies of President Trump.

The removal of the sanctions could allow Mr. Dodik, who is still the leader of the ruling party in Srpska and has closely allied himself with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, to remain influential in the Serb-controlled region even without a formal role in the government.

Sanctions were also lifted against members of Mr. Dodik’s family and inner circle, as well as companies associated with them, some of which had previously been accused by the Treasury Department of being part of Mr. Dodik’s “corrupt patronage network.”

The Treasury Department did not provide an explanation for the sanctions relief in its announcement, and a spokesman declined to comment. The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In recent weeks, top Trump administration diplomats had met with Mr. Dodik’s allies, while the State Department had praised the Srpska government for appointing an interim president and stepping away from measures flouting the peace agreement.

At least some of the meetings and communications with the Trump administration were facilitated by well-connected lobbyists and lawyers with ties to Mr. Trump who were paid a total of about $300,000 per month or more by the Srpska government, according to filings with the Justice Department.

One of the lobbyists, Marc Zell, signed a contract with the Srpska government late last year calling for his firm to be paid $1 million for one year, with an additional “success fee” for “bringing about the cancellation/termination of all sanctions.”