Arbër Ademi, secretary-general of the Democratic Union for Integration, said at a press conference that Alta Banka of Belgrade’s acquisition of Stopanska Banka in Bitola was linked to decisions made in 2025. He accused the VMRO-DPMNE–VLEN government of trying to shift responsibility for the process to previous governments.
Ademi said official documents showed that the key decisions allowing the Serbian bank to enter North Macedonia’s banking market were made while VMRO-DPMNE, VLEN and their coalition partners were governing the country.
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“Mickoski’s government and VLEN are trying to muddy the truth about Alta Banka by conflating decisions from different years and unrelated issues. The official documents, however, are clear,” Ademi said.
Speaking about the decision of October 24, 2023, he explained that the government at the time had taken steps to protect shares North Macedonia had acquired through the succession process following the breakup of the former Yugoslavia. According to him, the shares belonged to a former Yugoslav bank that was later acquired by Alta Banka of Belgrade.
Ademi explained that Serbian law allows shareholders holding more than 90 percent of the shares to acquire the remainder without the approval of minority shareholders. For that reason, he said, the previous government had tasked the State Attorney’s Office with protecting North Macedonia’s interests in Serbia.
“The 2023 decision had only that purpose. It had nothing to do with Alta Banka’s entry into North Macedonia or the acquisition of Stopanska Banka in Bitola,” he stressed.
The DUI secretary-general then set out the dates of the decisions that, he said, paved the way for Alta Banka’s acquisition of Stopanska Banka. He said the National Bank gave preliminary approval for a qualifying holding on September 1, 2025.
On September 10, the Securities and Exchange Commission approved the takeover bid for Stopanska Banka through decision No. 10-69. Ademi noted that the decision was made under the leadership of the commission’s chairwoman, Bujare Abazi, whom he described as a VLEN official.
“This document bears the name of the commission’s chairwoman, Bujare Abazi, a VLEN official. It is the official authorization for the takeover bid, which was published in the Official Gazette on September 22, 2025,” Ademi said. According to him, this shows that one of the key decisions in the process was approved during the current government’s term.
He also cited government decisions dated September 23, 2025, which he said were approved at the proposal of Finance Minister Gordana Dimitrieska-Koçoska. Ademi claimed that, under those decisions, 16 public institutions were instructed to decide whether to accept or reject Alta Banka’s offer for the shares they held.
He added that institutions accepting the offer were also required to submit written statements within the specified deadlines.
“The government did not stand aside from the process. It brought Alta Banka’s offer into government procedures and engaged public institutions to examine it,” Ademi said.
According to the timeline he presented, Alta Banka’s bid to acquire Stopanska Banka was declared successful in October 2025, and the bank changed its name to Alta Banka in December of the same year. Ademi stressed that the banking approval, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s authorization and the government’s measures concerning publicly held shares all took place under the VMRO-DPMNE–VLEN government.
“This chronology cannot be changed through political statements,” the DUI secretary-general said.
At the end of the press conference, Ademi called on Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski and VLEN ministers to explain the checks on the origin of the capital and the vetting carried out on Alta Banka’s owners.
He asked for disclosure of which institutions had examined the source of the capital, what checks had been carried out and what specific decisions public institutions had made regarding the offer for the shares.
Ademi also sought clarification of the responsibility of each institution involved, including the Securities and Exchange Commission, headed by Bujare Abazi.
“Citizens have the right to receive the documents and answers, not to hear attempts to shift responsibility onto a 2023 decision that had a different objective,” he said. Ademi ended the press conference with the message: “Lies have short legs. The documents remain!”
