Transparency International Macedonia continues to carry out its regular monthly activities for monitoring cases and activities related to corrupt behavior and the fight against corruption, which we’ve named “Light & Bleak”
The monitoring of these cases has received significant attention, both in the public sphere and among domestic and foreign relevant stakeholders, and over time, it has evolved into a relevant indicator for measuring corruption and assessing the government’s willingness to address this issue.
“BLEAK” OCCURRENCES FOR MARCH 2026
The director of the inspectorate hid €50,000 under a car seat :He allegedly demanded €100,000 to allow the import of prohibited goods – Police officers arrested the director of the State Inspectorate for Agriculture, who is suspected of having accepted a €50,000 bribe as the first installment of a total €100,000 he had requested, the Ministry of Interior announced. According to information from the Ministry, the suspect, in his capacity as a public official, indirectly solicited a bribe through a freight forwarder from the owner of a company engaged in imports. The bribe was allegedly requested to enable the unhindered import of goods for which remarks and alleged legal non-compliance had been noted, for which an official report had also been prepared by the Inspectorate.
Suspicions of unprofessional conduct by judges from the Skopje Court of Appeal, cases became time-barred due to delays – At its 538th session, the Judicial Council identified serious concerns about unprofessional and negligent conduct by judges of the Skopje Court of Appeal, due to unreasonable delays in court proceedings that resulted in cases reaching absolute statute of limitations. The working group found that deadlines for publishing judgments had been exceeded, as well as unjustified postponements of public hearings at the request of defense attorneys, which led to defendants remaining under house arrest for longer periods. The report states that such conduct is contrary to Article 405, paragraph 1 of the Criminal Procedure Law, according to which a judgment must be announced immediately after it is rendered, and if that is not possible, the announcement may be postponed for no more than three days.
State Audit Office: Irregularities in the Ministry for Inter-Community Relations for 2024, 30 laptops missing, salaries paid without proof of attendance… – The State Audit Office, during an audit of the Ministry for Inter-Community Relations for 2024, identified shortages of material assets, including 30 laptops, payment of 61% of salaries to employees without providing data on their attendance at work, and fueling of vehicles for which ownership by the Ministry could not be confirmed. The State Inspectorate for Construction left without inspectors, the institution has had no director for 8 years – There is no one to carry out construction inspections, as the last inspector working in this area met the conditions for retirement at the end of 2025. The State Inspectorate for Construction and Urban Planning has been led for eight years by an acting director, who is supposed to serve only six months, after which a formally appointed director should take over. Municipalities hardly respond to irregularities identified during regular and extraordinary inspections, and municipal inspectors often fail to notice violations on the ground. The State Audit Office revealed serious irregularities in the State Election Commission regarding the 2024 elections, which cost citizens €23 million – The audit report of the State Audit Office for 2024, i.e., during the presidential and parliamentary elections, uncovered a series of systemic shortcomings in the work of the State Election Commission. Numerous inconsistencies were identified – from unlawful allocation of funds for election campaigns, to procurement procedures conducted outside the Law on Public Procurement, to the lack of adequate conditions for storing confidential materials.
Institutions “don’t pay attention” to whistleblowers, only one-fifth have appointed staff to handle reports from them – Although whistleblowers are among the most effective in exposing and combating corruption, out of a total of 1,320 institutions, only 270 have designated personnel to receive reports from whistleblowers, which is just 20 percent. The total number of such appointed individuals in North Macedonia in 2025 was 280, meaning that in some institutions there are two or more designated persons, while in the majority there are none at all.
Corruption in healthcare: Patients pay for faster access to services – Around 200 out of a total of 1,240 respondents, through telephone and focus group research, said they had witnessed corruption in the healthcare system, with most of them sharing their experiences during focus groups. Most commonly, according to a study by the Association for Emancipation, Solidarity and Equality of Women, patients were asked for money or gifts in order to receive healthcare services more quickly and easily. None of the respondents reported such cases, as they do not believe that institutions would resolve the problem. Some of those who paid received the service, while for those who refused, their condition worsened.
“LIGHT” OCCURRENCES FOR MARCH 2026
The Constitutional Court announced that its sessions will be broadcast live – Starting from March 4, the sessions of the Constitutional Court will be available to watch live via the Court’s official website, as well as its digital channels on YouTube and Facebook. The decision was adopted by a majority vote of the Court’s current composition. The Constitutional Court described this move as a new era of transparency and a historic step toward full institutional openness.
Anti-Corruption Commission initiates proceedings: 234 councilors failed to submit asset declarations – Members of the State Commission for Prevention of Corruption unanimously decided at a session to initiate proceedings against 234 councilors elected in municipalities across the country who failed to fulfill their legal obligation to submit asset and interest declarations within the prescribed deadline. The President of the Commission, Adem Chuchulj, informed that an analysis of electronic records showed that around one-fifth of municipal councilors had not submitted the mandatory declaration, which constitutes a violation of the provisions of the Law on Prevention of Corruption and Conflict of Interest.
Financial Police files criminal charges against former director of “Communal Hygiene” – enabled individuals to gain €68,500 – The Financial Police Administration has filed an extensive criminal complaint against the former acting director of the public enterprise “Communal Hygiene” Skopje. He is charged with three criminal offenses: abuse of official position, document forgery, and embezzlement in service – in an attempted form.According to the investigation, he attempted to enable unlawful financial gain for several individuals in a total amount of approximately €68,500. The Financial Police stated that during 2025, just two days before the expiration of an existing contract with an authors’ agency, the reported individual hastily concluded five contracts with private individuals totaling 3,608,708 denars.
