US sanctions Serbian spy chief over corruption, drugs

The United States slapped sanctions Tuesday on Serbia's pro-Moscow intelligence chief and former defense minister for alleged corruption and involvement in drug trafficking.

The US Treasury said Aleksandar Vulin, director of the Security Information Agency, "has been implicated in transnational organized crime, illegal narcotics operations, and misuse of public office."

In addition, it said, Vulin helped facilitate "illegal arms shipments" by already-sanctioned Serbian arms dealer Slobodan Tesic.

The actions by Vulin, also a former interior minister, "have advanced corruption within Serbia's governing institutions," the Treasury said in a statement.

It also accused Vulin of helping Russia expand its influence in the Balkans, allegedly helping degrade security and stability in the region.

"Treasury will not hesitate to target actors that abuse their positions for personal gain while undermining effective and democratic governance in the Western Balkans," Under Secretary of the Treasury Brian Nelson said in a statement.

The sanctions seek to freeze any assets Vulin might have under US jurisdiction and prohibit Americans or US businesses and institutions, including banks with US operations, from conducting transactions with him.