The Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office in Kočani has filed an indictment against three people and submitted a proposal to indict six others. The case concerns suspicions of bribery, abuse of official position, disclosure of official secrets and forgery during tax inspections at the “Pulse” nightclub in Kočani and companies linked to it.
Two tax inspectors are accused of accepting bribes, an offense set out in Article 357 of the Criminal Code. One of them faces two counts of the offense. According to the indictment, they requested and received a pair of glasses and a wristwatch from a third person, who is accused of offering a bribe under Article 358. The exchange was allegedly intended to ensure that the person was informed in advance about extraordinary, unannounced inspections at the companies for which he was responsible.
Të lidhura
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The prosecution says that although the inspectors knew the law prohibited them from disclosing information obtained during tax proceedings, they shared information with the third person. The first defendant informed him via Viber messages about actions by the Public Revenue Office and the Ministry of Internal Affairs concerning the companies. He is also charged with repeatedly disclosing official secrets under Article 360 of the Criminal Code.
Both inspectors also face charges of abuse of official position and authority under Article 353. During an inspection of a legal entity for which the third defendant was responsible, on 06.03.2024, they found tax irregularities and unrecorded turnover but did not include the violations in the inspection report. According to the prosecution, this caused a loss of 98,400 denars to the budget because the offender did not pay the fine.
To conceal the irregularities discovered during the inspection, the second defendant allegedly falsified the official inspection report. He is charged with falsifying an official document under Article 361 of the Criminal Code.
A proposal to indict four other tax controllers and inspectors for abuse of official position and authority has also been submitted to the court. One of them is additionally accused of document forgery.
An employee of the State Market Inspectorate is accused of disclosing an official secret, having allegedly revealed when the inspections would take place.
According to the prosecution, the accused tax controllers and inspectors from the Public Revenue Office conducted tax inspections at legal entities whose actual owner was the sixth defendant, the father of the person previously accused of offering a bribe. They allegedly failed to record the violations they found and falsified inspection reports, resulting in the companies not being charged the fines prescribed by law. The prosecution says the actual owner, the sixth defendant, also contributed to the abuse of power.
Four other people were also included in the indictment for abuse of power. Proceedings against them were discontinued because the offenses had become time-barred, while it was determined that two people had not committed the alleged offense or any other offense prosecuted ex officio, the Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office said.
