Republika Srpska Lobbyists: Konakovic Denies Saudi Backing

The Canadian lobbying firm Dickens & Madson, hired by the government of Republika Srpska, says in filings submitted to US authorities that it represented the entity with the aim of winning its independence from Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to the same documents, 4 million dollars has been paid so far. Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Foreign Minister Elmedin Konakovic responded today that Saudi Arabia does not support the secession of Republika Srpska and that he personally asked that the meetings the lobbyists planned not take place.

Sarajevo media reported on the filings, and the portal Raport published claims from them. The contract belongs to the government of an entity in neighboring Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the country’s Constitutional Court has barred its financing.

What do the Dickens & Madson filings say?

The Montreal-based firm, headed by Ari Ben-Menashe, filed two semiannual reports under the US Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). The first covers activity through December 31, 2025, the second through June 30, 2026. The contract with the Republika Srpska government was signed on September 6, 2025.

The filings say the firm advised Republika Srpska representatives in contacts with the authorities of Israel, Saudi Arabia and other countries, in order to win political support and strengthen the entity’s political position. The report covers the meetings with the Saudi and Israeli sides in a single sentence:

“In the context of representing Republika Srpska and its goal of gaining independence from Bosnia and Herzegovina, D&M had several meetings with the Office of the Saudi Crown Prince and the Office of the President of Israel.”

The firm goes on to claim that both countries have close relations with Republika Srpska and with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and that both are interested in the entity’s independence. It adds that Saudi and Israeli officials should discuss the matter with US officials as well, but does not say whether those talks took place. The next report is expected to cover the following six months of lobbying.

What did the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina ban?

At its 174th plenary session, the Constitutional Court barred payments from the Republika Srpska budget under the contract with this firm. The ban also covers other lobbying carried out in the entity’s name and on its behalf through lobbying agencies, if it is aimed at goals that, according to the court’s decision, run counter to the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the court’s rulings and the country’s institutions. The National Assembly and the government of Republika Srpska, as well as the officials responsible, including its representative offices abroad, were ordered to halt activities tied to those payments.

Konakovic earlier told N1 BiH that he would hand the Constitutional Court’s decision to American partners.

What does Konakovic say about Saudi Arabia?

The minister recalled a conversation with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan at the Munich Security Conference. He says he showed the prince the Republika Srpska government’s contract with the lobbyist at the time:

“I showed the foreign minister that disputed contract between the government of Republika Srpska and the lobbyist Menashe, a former Mossad agent, who promised to arrange a meeting at the highest level, with the royal family, with the authorities, with ministers, in Saudi Arabia.”

Konakovic said he asked the Saudi officials to make sure no such meeting took place:

“I asked our friends that such a meeting not happen. Such a meeting, of course, has never happened to this day.”

The minister gave his verdict on the lobbyist’s report, which speaks of meetings with the prince’s office and Saudi government representatives. It amounts to saying that Saudi Arabia supports the secession of Republika Srpska, “which is, of course, a notorious lie.” He tied the motives to Milorad Dodik, leader of the SNSD party:

“There are tens, hundreds, thousands of proofs of that, so I do not know whether this is an attempt by this Menashe to justify the millions he took from Dodik, so that he alone is lying to Dodik, or whether the two of them together, Dodik and Menashe, are lying again to the Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina so that it would look as if Dodik has some say or possibly has support for secession.”

Dodik and Ben-Menashe should answer those questions, he added: “That is a question for them, we are not very interested in it.” Neither Dodik, nor the firm, nor the Republika Srpska government has a response in the reports we read. Konakovic finally said he had spoken again with his Saudi counterparts:

“What we know, and I spoke, of course, again with our friends in Saudi Arabia, who have serious problems these days, people were killed in attacks on airports, is that there is no Saudi support for secession in Bosnia and Herzegovina.”

What is confirmed and what is not?

The claims in the filings about meetings in Saudi Arabia and Israel have not been independently confirmed, nor do they represent the official position of those governments. Konakovic speaks of a meeting at the highest level and of support for secession, while the report mentions meetings with the offices of the crown prince and the president of Israel, without naming a location. What exactly was discussed in lower-level contacts cannot be told from his words.

Who is Ari Ben-Menashe?

He is an Israeli-Canadian businessman who claims to be a former Israeli military intelligence officer. In 2019 he lobbied for Sudan’s Transitional Military Council, and in 2021 for the military junta in Myanmar. The clients named in the firm’s current filings include Sudan’s State Council, the Republic of Vanuatu, Kyrgyzstan, the company DP World and politicians from African countries.