Washington, 5 January 2022 (dpa/MIA) - The US government imposed sanctions on leading Bosnian-Serb politician Milorad Dodik on Wednesday for alleged corruption and attempts to destabilize Bosnia-Herzegovina. The measures also affect his television station Alternativna Televizija, according to a Treasury Department statement. Dodik is a key lawmaker in the Republika Srpska (RS), the ethnic Serbian part of Bosnia-Herzegovina, as well a member of the shared presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He has made continued efforts to separate Republika Srpska from the Bosnian state. The Treasury said Dodik had undermined the institutions of Bosnia-Herzegovina and set up parallel structures in the RS. The statement also said Dodik used his position to "accumulate personal wealth through graft, bribery, and other forms of corruption." His divisive ethno-nationalistic rhetoric reflects his efforts to advance these political goals and distract attention from his alleged corrupt activities, it added. Cumulatively, these actions "threaten the stability, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of [Bosnia-Herzegovina] and undermine the Dayton Peace Accords, thereby risking wider regional instability," the statement said. Dodik denied having violated Bosnia's constitutional order and the Dayton Agreement or having committed any corrupt acts. "If you think you can discipline me in this way, you are very mistaken," Dodik told Bosnian Serb news agency SRNA. "Now I have all the more motive to fight for the rights that have been withheld from us for 26 years."