AAFS Infrastructure & Energy, led by a former Trump lawyer and Michael Flynn’s brother, is close to a $1.7 billion pipeline contract. House Democrats allege the administration’s 2025 sanctions relief for Milorad Dodik helped the project; the White House says it acted to protect regional stability.
A small U.S. company with ties to President Donald Trump’s circle is close to securing a role in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Southern Interconnection Gas Pipeline, a project valued at about $1.7 billion by Croatia’s government. The line would connect Bosnia to Croatia’s gas network and give it access to liquefied natural gas, reducing its reliance on Russian supplies.
AAFS Infrastructure & Energy was incorporated in the United States in 2025. It is headed by Jesse Binnall, Trump’s former personal attorney, and Joseph Flynn, brother of former national security adviser Michael Flynn. AAFS describes its focus as energy security and regional infrastructure. CBS News reported that the company does not appear to have demonstrated experience in comparable energy projects.
Bosnia’s parliament named AAFS lead investor and operator in legislation passed in April 2026. Later that month, Bosnia and Croatia signed a construction agreement in the presence of U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright. The U.S. Embassy in Sarajevo had publicly supported bringing U.S. gas through Croatia.
House Democrats’ report, “Pay for Play in the Balkans,” alleges that the Trump administration lifted sanctions on Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik in October 2025 to benefit Trump allies and that the decision was directly linked to Dodik’s subsequent decision not to oppose the pipeline. AAFS did not respond to CBS News’ request for comment. The White House declined to comment on the project but said the sanctions were lifted to prevent instability in the Balkans.
Dodik had long opposed the pipeline but said in April he would not stand in its way after AAFS’ involvement was announced. U.S. sanctions against him dated to 2017 and were expanded in 2022, when the Biden administration accused him of corruption, including steering public contracts to associates. A State Department letter cited in the Democrats’ report says Republika Srpska withdrew most of its anti-Dayton legislation after the sanctions were lifted, presenting the move as a contribution to peace and stability.
FARA filings reviewed by CBS News show Michael Flynn last worked as a paid lobbyist for Republika Srpska in October 2025, the month sanctions on Dodik were lifted. RRB Strategies paid him $100,000 for strategic advice and contacts with the entity’s government, according to the filings. The firm is run by Rod Blagojevich, a former Illinois governor convicted in 2011 on 18 corruption counts who spent nearly eight years in federal prison before Trump pardoned him last year. Flynn and Blagojevich did not respond to CBS News.
Political scientist and Balkans expert Jasmin Mujanović disputed the administration’s account. He told CBS News that Bosnia’s Constitutional Court had already struck down the laws in question before sanctions were lifted, and said it was unclear what practical significance their later withdrawal had. The competing claims leave unresolved whether sanctions relief produced the change the administration cited, while lawmakers allege the energy concession benefited politically connected figures.