Investing.com -- The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced on Tuesday that it has placed sanctions on four children of an alleged Kosovar Balkan kingpin for helping aid his extensive alleged narcotics trafficking network.
The actions impact relatives of Naser Kelmendi, an alleged organized crime boss, currently on trial in Kosovo on a spate of charges ranging from aggravated murder to running and overseeing a narcotics ring. In July, 2012, President Barack Obama designated Kelmendi as a significant narcotics trafficker pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act, a 1999 law enacted to prevent foreign operatives from conducting transactions with U.S. businesses.
Kelmendi has been accused of running the large-scale trafficking network through its purported hub in Kosovo to a large portion of Europe, spanning from Turkey to the United Kingdom. The network had primarily been engaged in heroin trafficking, according to the Treasury Department, but also sold cocaine and ectasy.
In addition, the organization reportedly headed by Kelmendi also laundered money through several front companies over the last decade, the Treasury Department said in a statement. Five companies that were either owned or controlled by Kelmendi's family in Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro were also named in the action.
“Naser Kelmendi leads a powerful criminal organization that has made millions through the sale of narcotics for more than a decade. With today’s action, we are targeting family members and front companies acting as the public face for Kelmendi’s clandestine, illicit activities,” said John E. Smith, Acting Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control at the Treasury Department. “This action demonstrates our commitment to targeting powerful drug trafficking organizations worldwide, and the individuals and businesses that they use in an attempt to legitimize their crimes.”
The action pursuant to the Kingpin Act freezes all U.S. assets of the named parties and prohibits U.S. companies from engaging in financial transactions with Kelmendi's sons.
Liridon Kelmendi, one of Kelmendi's children under sanction, was charged with five counts related to the sale of narcotics last July. Elvis Kelmendi, another son sanctioned on Tuesday, was sentenced to prison for four years in 2013 on charges stemming from an attempted murder in Bosnia.
Kelmendi pleaded not guilty to all of the counts in the indictment and “anticipates the moment when the court will declare his innocence," Balkan Insight.com reported.