Appeals Court Upholds Nikolla Gruevski’s Acquittal in the “Talir” Case

The Skopje Court of Appeals has announced that it dismissed as unfounded an appeal filed by the Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office in Skopje and upheld the Skopje Basic Criminal Court’s decision acquitting former Prime Minister Nikolla Gruevski of the charges in the “Talir” case. The decision was made following a closed session.

The session was held on August 26 of this year, during which the court reviewed the case files and also considered the recommendation of the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Skopje.

According to the Appeals Court’s reasoning, the actions of the defendant, N. G., in his capacity as the responsible person for the legal entity, fell within his authority. The court found that the Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office in Skopje had failed to present evidence that these actions violated the Law on the Financing of Political Parties.

Furthermore, the proceedings did not establish beyond a reasonable doubt that GP “Beton,” at the time it entered into the agreements with the political party, had the status of an entity providing public services under this law. For this reason, the Appeals Court concluded that there was no legal prohibition on donating funds to the political party, nor was the defendant, as the party’s responsible person, under any obligation to return those funds.

The Skopje Court of Appeals’ full decision in this case will be published on the court’s official website, in accordance with the Law on Courts and the Law on Managing the Movement of Cases in Courts. The public will be notified separately once it is published.

On July 14 of this year, the Skopje Basic Criminal Court acquitted Nikolla Gruevski of the charges in the “Talir 2” case, which concerned the abuse of official authority and the illegal financing of the construction of the OBRM-PDUKM party headquarters.