The consortium that consisted of Croatia's OiV and the Banja Luka-based Sirius has ceased existing due to the sanctions the US Administration imposed on companies perceived to be close to the family of the Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik and his son Igor. The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) says that Dodik has used his official position to accumulate personal wealth through seven companies linked to himself and to Igor Dodik, who controls the firms officially run by individuals loyal to him.

One such firm is the Banja Luka-based Sirius 2010, which in cooperation with the companies Prointer and Kaldera has provided state and public companies with IT technology solutions.

The US sanctions have resulted in commercial banks’ decisions to close accounts of the sanctioned company, as the lenders fear that otherwise they could be excluded from the SWIFT programme, which provides the main messaging network through which international payments are initiated.

BiH Minister Edin Forto is currently faced with a dilemma regarding the continuation of the digitisation project and has already held talks with the executives of both OiV and Sirius.

According to a press release issued after the talks and carried by local media outlets, OiV has reassured the minister that it is capable of implementing the entire project, which is estimated at €13 million,  provided that the other member makes its own decision to leave the consortium and abandon the project.