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 JANUARY 2026
In the wall – euros in the asset declaration – debts – An apartment of 70 square meters in Skopje, a “Volkswagen Passat” vehicle about ten years old, and a loan of 1.5 million denars to be repaid by 2038. This modest picture is presented by the personal asset declaration submitted by Judge Gjoko Ristov when he was elected in February 2020 as a judge at the Skopje Court of Appeal, where he handles cases in the criminal division. That formal image collapsed after the extensive investigation conducted by the Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office for the Prosecution of Organized Crime and Corruption, initiated on December 14, when lawyer Fehmi Stafa (former State Attorney) was first suspected, on grounds of a criminal offense—receiving a reward for unlawful influence. Stafa was suspected of having received €50,000 (and of having demanded €100,000) in order to intervene through bribery with a judge at the Skopje Court of Appeal to lift a detention measure for a person who is unavailable to law enforcement authorities and against whom the Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime and Corruption is conducting another procedure for criminal offenses against public finances, payment operations, and the economy.
Audit: Chaos with permits and utility fees in Ohrid – Auditors from the State Audit Office, in their report on the operations of the Municipality of Ohrid for 2024, reveal numerous irregularities and inconsistencies, due to which a qualified opinion was issued regarding the realism and objectivity of the financial statements, as well as an adverse opinion on compliance with the legal regulations governing budget accounts. In some settlements, the audit found houses, vacation homes, and even hotel complexes built without payment of fees for the development of construction land and without issued building permits. Where did 80 percent of patient appointments in 2024 “disappear” at the Institute of Occupational Medicine?!
The Institute of Occupational Medicine denied patients access to 80 percent of the appointments for specialist and consultative services, which, pursuant to Article 39-a of the Law on Health Protection, it was obliged to provide. This emerges from the audit report on the operations of this public healthcare institution. Audit of TIDZ: Empty zones and contracts without backing – Financial irregularities, insufficient use of state property, and problematic public procurement create significant legal and fiscal risks for the Directorate for Technological Industrial Development Zones, according to the detailed report of the State Audit Office on the institution’s operations in 2024. Technological industrial development zones lacking full functionality, with million-euro investments without depreciation.
The order for arrest was delayed for days and took days to reach the police — how did the “Durmo Tours” convict escape? – A series of failures by the judge responsible for the execution of sanctions, the members of the Criminal Council at the Gostivar court, shortcomings in the courier service of the Gostivar police station, as well as disputed medical postponements, were identified by the extraordinary oversight conducted at the court regarding the escape of Remzi Miftari. Instead of serving a 10-year prison sentence for the Laskarci tragedy, he fled the country after postponing his imprisonment on the grounds that he was undergoing testicular surgery. The Judicial Council, with nine votes “in favor” and two “against” adopted the report in which the commission concludes that the judge for the execution of sanctions and the members of the Criminal Council committed omissions in the case and proposes that a request be filed to determine responsibility for these judges.
Companies were granted construction permits near the Fair, the Municipality annulled them and did not refund the money—now it must pay 127 million denars – The Mayor of the Municipality of Gazi Baba informed that, following a court ruling by the Basic Civil Court, the Municipality is obliged to pay 127 million denars to several companies that sued the local government in 2020 after their construction permits were annulled and the previously paid fees were not refunded. The Mayor emphasized that the lawsuit dates back to October 2020, during the term of his predecessor, when companies that had construction permits and paid more than 73 million denars for the development of the area around the former Skopje Fair had their money taken by the Municipality, their permits annulled, and new permits issued to other companies, while the fees paid by the companies that initially received the permits were not returned.
Court rulings reveal that the Bulgarian language school “Julia” for TOEFL certificates had not existed since at least December 2022 and had not received payments since 2018 — courts see no problem – Macedonian investigative authorities, the police, and the prosecution had already known and been informed as early as December 2022 that the disputed English-language and TOEFL certificate school “Julia” had no offices at its registered address in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, and did not exist. This conclusion can be drawn from a ruling by the Basic Court in Vinica and the Court of Appeal in Shtip in a case in which the principal of a secondary school in Vinica was charged with forgery. The accused was acquitted in November the year before last, and on November 17 the acquittal was upheld by the Shtip Court of Appeal. The Macedonian courts held that there was no evidence of forgery, since the certificate had been issued in early March 2022, while Bulgarian police failed to locate the “Julia” school on site nine months later.
“LIGHT” OCCURRENCES FOR JANUARY 2026
Indictment filed against 13 police officers over the fire in Kochani – An indictment has been filed against 13 police officers four department heads and nine police officers who were conducting an operational inspection at the “Pulse” nightclub in Kochani on the evening of March 16 last year, when a fire broke out that killed 63 people and injured more than 200. As was announced at a briefing at the Public Prosecutor’s Office for the Prosecution of Organized Crime and Corruption with the case prosecutor Ivana Aleksova Trajcheva, they are charged as co-perpetrators with committing the criminal offense of Grave crimes against public safety under Article 292, paragraph 2, in conjunction with Article 288, paragraph 3, in conjunction with paragraph 2, in conjunction with Article 22 of the Criminal Code.
The action by the PPO for Organized Crime and Corruption was carried out following information from the National Security Agency — 20 people suspected of financial crime worth €4.8 million – A Serbian citizen who owns two companies, senior officials at the Public Revenue Office (PRO), as well as several other owners and managers of legal entities are among the twenty suspects in the operation conducted by the Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office for the Prosecution of Organized Crime and Corruption (PPOOCC) at multiple locations across the country. As announced by the Prosecutor’s Office, the suspects are charged with the criminal offenses of tax evasion, tax fraud, money laundering, and abuse of official position, committed in the period from 2023 to 2025. According to the PPOOCC, the suspected businessmen, using false tax documentation and with the assistance of employees of the Public Revenue Office, managed to evade tax payments and obtain refunds of public levies for non-resident companies, thereby damaging the state budget by 297,733,844 denars, or approximately €4.8 million.
Indictment against the former director and seven others for embezzlement and abuses at the Prilep Hospital – The Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office in Prilep has filed an indictment against eight individuals and one legal entity for the continued criminal offenses of Embezzlement in office and Abuse of the procedure for a public call, award of a public procurement contract, or public–private partnership at the General Hospital in Prilep. For acts of embezzlement, as provided for under Article 354 of the Criminal Code, the former director and three other hospital employees are charged with unlawfully appropriating funds entrusted to them in the course of their duties and obtaining significant financial gain in the total amount of 9,605,081 denars (over €155,000) in the period from the beginning of 2022 to July 2024, the Prosecutor’s Office announced. “Through fictitious work orders and payment forms/cash disbursements containing false information for allegedly performed work for the needs of the hospital, they paid funds to individuals from the revenue generated through the collection of patient co-payments for healthcare services, without using the Public Revenue Office system, without concluded service contracts, and without documentation justifying the expenditures,” the Prosecutor’s Office stated.
Journalist records attempted bribe, police arrest employee of the Basic Court in Gostivar – According to the information, on January 20, 2026, at 8:10 p.m., police officers from the Rostushe Police Unit arrested A.J. (49) from the village of Prisojnica, Municipality of Mavrovo and Rostushe. The arrest followed a report by N.A. from the village of Kalishte, Municipality of Vrapchishte, who stated that the suspect, as an employee of the Basic Court in Gostivar, had offered—through a mutual friend—to erase a court fine of 200 euros and a six-month driving ban in exchange for a cash payment of 100 euros.
As reported, A.J. claimed that the relevant documentation had reached him for enforcement and that he could “take care of it.” After an agreement was made, N.A. contacted the suspect and a meeting was arranged at a hospitality venue in Gostivar. After their meeting, the reporting party informed A.J. that he was a journalist and that the conversation was being recorded, after which the suspect attempted to justify himself by claiming it was a joke and tried to flee.
