Director of the Security and Information Agency of Serbia (BIA) Aleksandar Vulin has been included in the list of U.S. sanctions.

This was announced by the Office of Foreign Assets Control in the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

According to the Treasury, Vulin is involved in corrupt affairs “to advance his political agendas and personal interests at the expense of peace and stability in the Western Balkans”.

“These corrupt agreements facilitated Russian malign activity in Serbia and the region,” the statement said.

According to the Treasury announcement, Vulin is involved in transatlantic organized crime, illicit drug operations, and abuse of official duty.

“Vulin has maintained a mutually beneficial relationship with U.S.-designated Serbian arms dealer Slobodan Tešić, helping ensure that Tešić’s illegal arms shipments can move freely across Serbia’s borders,” the statement said.

Tešić has been on the U.S. blacklist since 2017.

The Treasury accused Vulin of “advancing” corruption within Serbian government institutions.

This includes the misuse of authority for personal gain, “such as involvement in a drug trafficking ring”.

“He has used his public positions to support Russia, facilitating Russia’s malign activities that degrade the security and stability of the Western Balkans and providing Russia a platform to further its influence in the region,” the statement said.

Vulin previously served as Minister of Defense and Minister of Internal Affairs in Serbia.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury stated that it will not hesitate to target actors “that abuse their positions for personal gain while undermining effective and democratic governance in the Western Balkans”.

“Today’s action holds Aleksandar Vulin accountable for his corrupt and destabilizing acts that have also facilitated Russia’s malign activities in the region,” said Brian E. Nelson, the Treasury’s Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.

The imposition of sanctions means that all properties Vulin may have in the U.S., or controlled by U.S. citizens, will be blocked. He is also prohibited from engaging in transactions with U.S. citizens.

• Who is Aleksandar Vulin?

Aleksandar Vulin, a former collaborator of Mirjana Marković, wife of Slobodan Milošević, is currently a coalition partner of the Serbian Progressive Party in power.

After many years of ministerial experience in the Serbian Government, he was appointed Chief of the National Security Service – the Security and Information Agency (BIA) – in December 2022.

On 10 May, the European Parliament adopted a resolution expressing concern over Vulin’s appointment as the head of BIA, describing him in the resolution text as a person “known for his rhetoric against the EU and pro-Kremlin views”.

Vulin is known to the general public for his harsh rhetoric towards his neighbors in the region and his friendship with Russia.

In one of the recent criticisms against him, the embassies of Ukraine and the United States in Belgrade, as well as the EU, criticized Vulin’s participation in the international security conference in Moscow in May of this year.