Artan Grubi’s house arrest to be lifted after 17 days if prosecutor fails to file charges

The six-month deadline, which is also the final period of the investigation into former deputy prime minister of DUI, Artan Grubi, expires on August 22. If the prosecutor does not file charges by then, Grubi will also be released from house arrest.

The prosecutor of the Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office Skopje legally has 17 days left to close the investigation. After 14 months on the run, the prosecutor kept him in detention only half a day and then immediately requested the replacement of this measure with house arrest. If the investigative procedure is not completed within the deadline, Grubi is set free.

The Criminal Court, in a response to Sakamdakazam.mk, clarifies: “If there is no indictment, the house arrest of the suspect you are asking about is lifted and the Basic Criminal Court Skopje, by official duty, orders a measure to ensure presence. Most often this is the seizure of the travel document.”

Before surrendering on February 23, 2026 at the Bllacë border crossing, Artan Grubi was staying as a fugitive in Kosovo. No passport is required to cross this border, as an ID card is sufficient.

Suspicions against him relate to the misappropriation of 8.2 million euros from the State Lottery. After spending several hours in detention, Grubi stated that he had not felt safe in Shutka. Then, the prosecutor, operatives of the National Security Agency and the Ministry of Interior, together with the pre-trial judge, immediately took him out of prison, proposing the house arrest measure.

On November 24, 2025, Ljupço Kocevski, who at that time was state prosecutor, said that evidence against Grubi had been secured and that only his extradition from Kosovo remained. However, the silence that has shrouded this case remains unclear. Even yesterday, the Prosecutor’s Office responded that there was no new development from the investigation that could be made known to the public.

In the same criminal case, Prparim Bajrami, chairman of the Board of Directors and general director of the State Lottery, also appears as a suspect. Bajrami also remains on the run.

Also under investigation are four other people who acted as chairpersons and commission members in two separate public calls. They are suspected of abusing their authorizations and special duties by conducting public procedures for the transfer of the right to organize electronic and online games of chance, even though they were aware that in these specific cases such a procedure should not have taken place.