Former Government Service Director Accused of Abuse of Office, Caused Around 8 Million Denars in Damage to State Budget

The Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office in Skopje has filed an indictment against the former head of the Service for General and Common Affairs, charging him with criminal offenses related to abuse of official duty and document forgery. According to the official announcement, the charges involve the continued offense of “Abuse of official position and authority” and “Forgery of an official document,” as stipulated by the Criminal Code.

According to the investigations, from July 3, 2021, until March of 2024, the defendant exceeded his powers as director. He signed travel orders for himself and other employees, justifying them as services abroad, even though these trips were entirely unrelated to work. For personal needs, he used the government Learjet 60 aircraft and covered various expenses through the institution’s account. He also unjustifiably used the official card for hotel and food services, causing damage to the budget amounting to 2,562,139 denars.

Another serious case covers the period from October 27, 2023, to June 14, 2024. In this phase, the former director failed to fulfill his official duties by favoring a third party, specifically the pilot engaged in this service. Although he participated in a “Flight Safety Atlanta” meeting and was made aware that the pilot, even after additional training, did not meet the criteria to fly the Learjet 60 aircraft, he did not request a reimbursement of the training expenses and did not notify the relevant structures to terminate the employment relationship. Consequently, the pilot continued to be paid as captain-commander, causing additional damage to the budget in the amount of 5,431,624 denars.

Regarding the accusation of forging official documentation, it pertains to procurement procedures for renting cars intended for the transport of delegations and citizens from Afghanistan. The contracts were always signed with the same rental agency from Skopje. In the statements regarding the absence of conflicts of interest, the accused presented false information, denying any private benefit from this procurement. However, investigations showed that he and his wife used vehicles from this company free of charge for domestic and international travel, both before, during, and after the fulfillment of the contracts.

The Prosecutor’s Office also announces that an investigation was conducted into the owner of this company for the criminal offense of bribery. However, after analyzing the collected evidence, the public prosecutor found no evidence that providing the cars free of charge was intended to secure a favorable decision in tenders. Consequently, a decision was made to close the investigative procedure for this entity.