The US-sponsored Serbian businessman has won 61 tenders worth 5.6m euros from Kosovo institutions

These projects are financed by the Kosovo Government budget.

P.T.P. Company owner. “RAD” and “RAD” D.O.O., Radule Steviq is one of those who entered the sanctions list from the United States.

Otherwise, municipalities in northern Kosovo are led by leaders coming from the Serb List, the main Kosovo Serb party, which was formed in 2013 with the support of Belgrade and Serbia's current president, Aleksandar Vuciq.

P.T.P. Company. “RAD” and “RAD” D.O.O. which in Kosovo's Agency for Registering Business, figures in Steviki's name, have won tenders from Kosovo's institutions for a variety of projects, ranging from infrastructure to municipalities in the north, building social residences, nesting, school renovations, supply of information technology equipment, supply of construction materials, mobile supplies to the production of traffic equipment and signaling.

The highest-earned tender Stevic has won is for reconstruction of road infrastructure on the “road section of Petra I” in northern Mitrovica, worth 699,902 euros. This tender was awarded on July 14, 2020 by the North Mitrovica municipality.

On June 17th 2020, Stevic won a tender worth 389,906 euros for the construction of the youth centre in Zvecan, a tender awarded by the Zvecan Municipal Assembly.

For restructuring and expanding the municipal administration building in Leposaviq, one of Stevic's companies won tenders worth 345,702 euros. The Stevics company won this tender of the Municipal Assembly on August 23rd 2018.

Meanwhile, on May 7, 2018, Steviq had won tenders worth 329,965 euros for reconstruction of the street sidewalks “Ivo Lola Ribar” in northern Mitrovica, a tender shared by this municipality.

Meanwhile, for building the sports hall in northern Mitrovica, Stevict's company won 325,351 euros. This tender was awarded by the North Mitrovica municipality on December 4th, 2018.

Stevic had also won the tender for the construction of a fire station in northern Mitrovica, worth over 183,000 euros.

In addition to infrastructure projects, Stevic's company had also received tenders for the procurement of furniture for the Leposaviqi municipality, worth 180,910 euros.

Meanwhile, the Gracanica municipality selected Stevic's company for the construction of social residences, a tender worth 141,689 euros.

In addition to infrastructure projects, Stevic has won tenders for the production of metal containers in the 55,900 euro Leposaviqi municipality.

The last tender Stevich has won dates back to September 16, 2021. He won this tender from the Zvecan Municipal Assembly, worth 46,830 euros for additional works in reconstruction and expansion of the Zvecan sewer network.

Who did the United States sanction?

On Wednesday, the Foreign Property Control Office, which is under the US Treasury Department, published a list of individuals and their companies at certain locations, called “States specifically labeled”.

In addition to Stevijqi, Milan Radojciq, Zvonko and Zarko Veselinovic, Srdjan Vullovic, Zelko and Andrija Bojic and Radule Steviq all Serbs from Kosovo are included on the list.

With the introduction of the sanctions list, the properties of all sanctioned persons are blocked and American citizens are forbidden to cooperate with them.

The US said Zvonko Veselinovic is identified as leader of the Organised Crime Group and also as one of the most notorious corruption figures in Kosovo.

According to the announcement, this group has been involved in major bribery schemes with security, Kosovo and Serbian officials, who facilitate illegal trafficking of goods, money, narcotics and weapons between Kosovo and Serbia, it is said in the communiqué.

According to the US Treasury Department, the group has also conspired with various politicians for mutual favour, including bribery to Kosovo security officials, to allow their smuggling operations between Serbia and Kosovo in early 2019, and to bribe Kosovo border officials to allow smugglers safe passage at the end of 2017.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that “these sanctions target the perpetrators of corruption, in line with Executive Order 138181818x1>, which is based on the Global Act of Awareness for Human Rights, known as the Magnitsky Act.

“Transnational organised crime is destabilising. These groups often co-operate with public officials to protect themselves from prosecution and responsibility”, Blinken said.