Kosovo shuts 6 Serb bank branches over use of the dinar currency in a move that could raise tensions

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Kosovo police have closed six branches of a Serbia-licensed bank in line with the decision on the ban of the use of the Serbian dinar currency in the country. It’s a move that has raised tension with neighboring Serbia. A police statement said Monday that authorities closed the branches of the Postal Savings Bank following a request from financial institutions on their illegitimacy and based on an authorization from the prosecutor’s office. The government required areas dominated by the ethnic Serb minority in Kosovo to adopt the euro currency starting on Feb. 1 and abolished the use of the Serbian dinar. Pristina postponed the move for about three months following pressure from the European Union and the United States.