Advisers associated with Donald Trump were reportedly paid to work for Milorad Dodik, the Bosnian Serb leader described as pro-Russian, ahead of a parliamentary election in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The reported arrangement has drawn alarm because it places political operatives connected to a major United States political figure inside an electoral campaign involving one of the Balkans' most divisive leaders.
According to reporting by Al Jazeera, the advisers were paid to provide advice to Dodik before the vote. The available reporting raises questions about the role and purpose of foreign-linked consultants in the campaign.
The case is likely to attract wider attention in Europe, where political influence operations and outside campaign support remain sensitive issues. The reporting does not, on its own, establish the full scope of the advisers' work or its effect on the election.