The arrival of former U.S. federal prosecutor Martin De Luca, who is now part of the new U.S. administration, has unsettled certain Federation media outlets, prompting them to immediately investigate his background.
What particularly caught their attention was De Luca’s statement in an interview for RTRS, where he revealed that an investigation into USAID’s financial operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina has been launched. According to the initial findings, in the past four years, $402 million has been spent in Bosnia and Herzegovina through various programs, but the fate of $250 million remains unknown.
- “Over the past four years, $402 million has been allocated to Bosnia and Herzegovina through various programs, but only $150 million can be accounted for. Around $250 million remains untraceable. This is money from American taxpayers,” De Luca stated.
He emphasized that his team is already investigating USAID’s financial operations and that similar spending patterns have been observed worldwide, raising suspicions of corruption.
- “President Trump is very determined to investigate everything that has happened as soon as possible. There is no clear description of these projects, and it remains unclear where $250 million allocated to Bosnia and Herzegovina has gone,” De Luca added.
Who is Martin De Luca?
Martin De Luca frequently advises clients under U.S. sanctions.
- “He regularly assists clients in navigating international sanctions regimes, advocating before agencies such as the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Department of Commerce, the UK Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, and the European Union,” states his biography, according to Klix.
Earlier in his career, De Luca worked as a prosecutor at the U.S. Department of Justice, serving as a special assistant U.S. attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and as an assistant district attorney in the New York County District Attorney’s Office.
He prosecuted cases involving corruption, complex fraud, money laundering, tax evasion, organized crime, terrorism financing, and international drug trafficking. These cases often required collaboration with the FBI, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. intelligence agencies, and foreign law enforcement partners, giving him extensive expertise in managing cross-jurisdictional crises.
His connections to other high-profile cases
De Luca was also the attorney for Mark Fogel, who was released on February 11, 2025.
Fogel, an American teacher, was arrested in Russia in 2022 and sentenced to 14 years in prison for alleged drug smuggling. In August 2021, Russian authorities detained him at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport with 17 grams of cannabis, which he claimed to use for medical purposes.
- “Mark Fogel’s release is historic, long overdue, and a testament to the power of strong leadership. After years of bureaucratic inaction, including repeated refusals to classify Mark as unlawfully detained, President Trump ensured his release within just a few weeks, wasting no time in taking decisive action to bring him home,” De Luca stated.
Additionally, Martin De Luca serves as the legal counsel for Trump Media Group and the video platform Rumble. He recently filed a complaint regarding the blocking of the Rumble social network in Brazil, which was ordered in January this year by a minister of the Supreme Federal Court of Brazil.
Source: RTRS
