The Council of Public Prosecutors has established the committees responsible for reviewing the candidacies for the position of the new head of the Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office for Prosecution of Organized Crime and Corruption. A total of five candidates have applied for the position.

The candidates include senior prosecutor Jove Cvetanovski; Trajçe Pelivanov, a prosecutor at the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office and former prosecutor at the Special Public Prosecutor’s Office; Lidija Raiçeviq, a prosecutor at the Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office in Skopje; and prosecutors at the Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office for Prosecution of Organized Crime and Corruption, Iskra Haxhi-Vasileva and Faton Azizi.

The committee will check whether the applicants meet the legal criteria and the requirements set out in the announcement. The results of the review will be published on the Council’s website within three days, the institution’s chairman, Bashkim Besimi, announced.

Under the established rules, public prosecutors who have at least six years of uninterrupted experience serving as prosecutors by the application deadline, as well as a positive performance evaluation during the past three years, may apply for the position.

The election of the new head is scheduled to take place on October 28.

The process was opened after the mandate of the current head of the prosecution office, Islam Abazi, ended. He was elected to the position in October 2022.

Meanwhile, regarding the decision to terminate disciplinary proceedings against one of the candidates, Chief Prosecutor Saveski said he would not appeal it.

“I have accepted the decision and I believe I have already stated my position on this. I will not file [an appeal]; that is, the deadline for filing an appeal has expired,” said Nenad Saveski, chief prosecutor.

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Përparim Bajrami, the former director of the State Lottery, who is suspected of embezzlement and abuse of official duty, reported to the prosecution authorities this morning after previously being on the run.

Bajrami, from Kumanovo and born on February 10, 1993, voluntarily reported on foot at 5:35 a.m. to the competent authorities.

An arrest order had been issued for him at the request of the SVR, specifically its Search Unit, under Article 354, paragraph 5, of the Criminal Code.

After the measure was confirmed, he was deprived of his liberty and will be taken before the competent authorities for further proceedings./Telegrafi/

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The deadline for submitting applications to succeed Islam Abazi as head of the Prosecutor’s Office for the Prosecution of Organized Crime and Corruption has closed.

Applications sent by post will also be accepted during the day today.

The Council of Public Prosecutors has so far received five applications. The candidates for the post are Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office prosecutors Jovan Cvetanoski and Trajce Pelivanov, Skopje Public Prosecutor’s Office prosecutor Lidija Raičeviq, and Prosecutor’s Office for the Prosecution of Organized Crime prosecutors Iskra Haxhi Vasilleva and Faton Azizi.

Abazi’s term ends on November 8, and he has announced that he will not seek a second term.

Prosecutors will vote directly on October 28 to elect the new head of the Prosecutor’s Office for the Prosecution of Organized Crime and Corruption./Telegrafi/

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The Basic Criminal Court in Skopje opened proceedings today against former Deputy Prime Minister Artan Grubi and seven other defendants, accused of abuses at the State Lottery JSC.

According to the indictment filed on August 13 of this year by the Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office in Skopje, during 2023 and 2024, Artan Grubi and the other individuals acted together beyond their specific competencies and duties. Their actions allegedly caused damage to the Joint Stock Company for Organizing Games of Chance, State Lottery of the Republic of North Macedonia, amounting to 507,632,173 denars.

All defendants face the criminal offense of “Abuse of official position and authority,” under Article 353 paragraph 5, in conjunction with paragraphs 4 and 1, as well as Article 22 of the Criminal Code. This offense carries a penalty of up to five years in prison. Through the automatic case assignment system, the case has been entrusted to Judge Biljana Shuplinovska-Jovevski.

Përparim Bajrami, former director of the State Lottery and the first defendant, remains inaccessible to law enforcement and is at large. The prosecution has requested that he be placed in 30-day detention. Meanwhile, for Artan Grubi, the second defendant, an extension of the house arrest measure has been requested, which was imposed along with the precautionary measure of temporarily seizing his travel document and prohibiting him from obtaining a travel document or other document for crossing the state border.

Based on Article 470 paragraph 4 of the Law on Criminal Procedure, the detention measure may last up to 60 days from the moment of filing the criminal prosecution proposal until the conclusion of the main hearing. In this case, the maximum 60-day deadline is calculated from August 13.

After more than 14 months in hiding, Grubi was apprehended at the Bllaca border crossing point in February of this year. Following his testimony at the Prosecutor’s Office, he was not placed in pre-trial custody, but was left under house arrest for security reasons.

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