Political and Judiciary Corruption in Macedonia

[Carlin15]

Breaking news: Katica Janeva taken to prison

URL:
https://english.republika.mk/news/ma...-sutka-prison/

Katica Janeva goes to Sutka prison

After several hours of questioning, the Criminal Court has ordered a 30-day detention for Katica Janeva as a third suspect in the “Racket” case.

She has the right to appeal through her lawyers to the criminal council.

The Prosecutor’s Office for prosecution of organized crime and corruption requested her detention.

[Phoenix]

Originally Posted by Pelagonija

Only in farking fyrom can one corrupt party replace another corrupt party on the basis of corruption, and then the same corrupt government officials send homos to collect cash for extortion purposes from corrupt business officials. The installation of the zz government was always about fyrom changing its name and denying its history for the sake of joining NATO and not about corruption and democracy. You cant make this stuff up, this is insane.

Where are those fag fyromers critisizing the diaspora when we went out on the streets to protest selling our name and soul? Making derogatory comments towards us.. ffs Janeva was appointed by the EU.

Mameto da mu ebam..

https://faktor.mk/sluchaj-reket-sega...drugata-strana

It is pathetic on so many levels...where once I sympathised with our people for being fucked in the arse, I have now lost all respect and empathy for them...from the blatant hypocrisy of the condom revolutionaries and the nothing that those cunts actually represented, to the embarrassing silence of the EU and USA in addressing the incompetence and daily scandals generated by the Zaev government, it is true that the Northies got the government they so richly deserved...

[Pelagonija]

Article is a bit old though a good read from la verita, the source of racket case.

https://english.republika.mk/news/ma...say-something/

La Verità journalist Laris Gaiser released Sunday morning new video relating to the Macedonia’s “Racket” case. Here what he says in the new video:
La Verità’s recent publications of audio and video recordings related to the racketeering activities in Macedonia in recent years, involving the Special Prosecutor’s Office led by Katica Janeva, has turned into a real political and social earthquake. Our newsroom, as well as the undersigned, was flooded on a daily basis with thousands of messages of support and appreciation. There were hardly any criticisms and threats that are usually encountered in such cases. On the site, on the subject of foreign policy, we have surpassed over a million contacts. We can say that La Verità has served as information platform to the Macedonian nation, shaking off some stagnant situations and restoring the confidence of a nation reduced to constant isolation, which the EU seems to have condemned in order to achieve a plan to limit the country sovereignty. The Macedonians are a proud nation, disappointed with corruption, and suffer even more when the situation, even only indirectly, is supported by the EU.

It should be noted that precisely J.C. Juncker and Mogherini insisted strongly on the special prosecutor. That is why the sensational revelations of our paper have caused both internal and external tensions. Internally, the opposition led by H. Mickoski claims that La Verità has publicly demonstrated to the wider audience evidence of a vast political and judicial octopus that Prime Minister Zoran Zaev should take into account and resign. He (ZZ) has so far commented on the case only via a Facebook post where he says the characters have abused his name. From the prison where he is precisely because of the “Racket” case analyzed by us, Boki 13 responded to him, through a Serbian newspaper, that if he tried to kill him, evidence of Zaev’s involvement was with his mother. From an international point of view, except for the fact that our revelations were reported by numerous media outlets, including media from Germany, Albania, Serbia and Slovenia – the first to respond was France. The country’s ambassador said that Macedonian authorities should give clear answers to the scandal revealed by us, before Brussels begins analyzing Macedonia’s approach to the EU. And the most shocking message – total silence came precisely from the Union that we thought should be reexamined a few years ago because, through Mogherini, it was the main sponsor of the SPO and of many international traumas inflicted on Macedonia.

Regardless of the summer period, thousands of EU internal affairs staff, 220 of which are in the Skopje delegation, failed to submit any institutional report in hopes of quickly clarifying the facts. Brussels’ order to remain silent and to avoid further damage to its image must have been conveyed in a crystal clear manner. So clear that it became clear to Doris Pack that something was wrong, a decade-long parliamentarian in charge of enlargement in the Balkans and without any doubt one of the most powerful political figures from the CDU and Germany, and a current EPP representative. Doris Pack strongly urged Saturday the Union’s foreign services, demanding an immediate response and wondering how Mogherini could remain silent about the criminal reality revealed by the third video posted on La Verità’s site.

In 2015, it was the EU that insisted on the SPO, which did much harm to the Macedonian people. Today, those in the EU are obliged to respond, especially to those within the Macedonian administration who have risked their lives in the past months helping us publish the material, convinced that it is still possible to have a real democracy based on informed public opinion and control of politicians. As far as we are concerned, we continue to evaluate the specificity and legal feasibility of potentially publishing other audio material. For the time being, we hope that the Macedonian people can finally get real support from foreign capitals, which have so far run policies from the shadows.

[Gocka]

So many questions

How did DPMNE get the recordings? Last time around it was assumed Zaev got them from German or British intelligence.

Are they genuine? Everyone knew Zaev was involved so I'm sure they are genuine.

Will the condom throwers show up again? They were apparently very anti corruption, lets see how anti corruption they really are.

Pretty convenient timing a month or so before upcoming elections. What does this mean for the election.

If you step back and take in the whole picture, what a sad state of affairs it is. One party gets ousted a couple years ago for corruption, and not even a full mandate in this party is facing the exact same allegations. If you are a voter, your choice is between those who were corrupt and those who are corrupt. Its shocking that no one else can gain any traction as a political party. With those choices you would think it should be easy.

I wouldn't get too excited about DPMNE getting back into power. First its going to be tough, with SDS now being a "multi ethnic" party they have the Albanian vote locked down. Even if DPMNE won the election they would still need the Albanian parties to form a coalition. Which like always means the Albanians get more concessions so that either party can form a government. Albanians win Macedonians lose. Then even if DPMNE forms a coalition, gives the Albanians more concessions, they have completely backtracked from annulling the Prespa agreement anyway.

So to sum it up, we lose either way, the Albanians get more privileges, the Prespa agreement stands. What do we get? Fresh old faces occupying the political sofa.

[Risto the Great]

Sadly DPmNE is like the chushka calling the piperka a pepper.

The timing for all of this seems a little opportune.

One would imagine the time is ripe for a new party to arise. But, no, it's Severedonia we're talking about.

[Carlin15]

There are no elections on April 12. They have been delayed until further notice as far as I know.

[Soldier of Macedon]

Some older articles which may have been previously posted elsewhere but relevant given the upcoming elections.

https://balkaninsight.com/2019/08/10...tortion-video/

August 10, 2019

The Italian newspaper La Verita on Saturday published a third batch of audio recordings on YouTube – like the first two relating to North Macedonia’s so-called extortion scandal – in which Prime Minister Zoran Zaev is mentioned for the first time. The latest recordings mainly focus on what appear to be conversations between the alleged victim, businessman Orce Kamcev, and his suspected extortionist, Bojan Jovanovski, aka Boki 13. In them, they agree details about Kamcev’s release from house detention, the return of his passport and the closure of the the Special Prosecution case, codenamed “Empire”, in which he is involved. The extortion case centres around claims that Kamcev paid Jovanovski a large sum of money to use his alleged influence with the Special Prosecution either to be acquitted in the “Empire” case, or at least get a lenient sentence. The claims have rocked the Special Prosecution, SJO, which was set up in 2015 to investigate high-level crime in the country. In one of the conversations, what appears to be Jovanovski’s voice is heard calling chief Special Prosecutor Katica Janeva in front of Kamcev, to convince him that she has everything “under control”. Kamcev is seemingly interested also in finding out whether Janeva’s subordinate prosecutor, Lile Stefanova , who is in direct charge of his case, is also “under control”. “I am very busy,” what appears to be Janeva’s voice tells Kamcev over the telephone. “That is the reason why I don’t hold the matter under control regularly. But, besides that, she [presumably Stefanova] cannot do anything without me.” In a fresh reaction on Saturday, Janeva continued to deny any connection to the “Extortion” case. “In the concrete case, at that period, negotiations were being held on my side so that the person O.K. [Orce Kamcev] became a collaborator – a witness in a new pre-investigation, which we pursued together with the Prosecution and with one of my deputy prosecutors,” she said in a press release. In another conversation, what is assumed to Jovanovski’s voice mentions his acquaintance with Prime Minister Zoran Zaev to Kamcev. In the conversation, he refers to the Prime Minister by the codename “ZZ”. “I think even ZZ won’t make any problems for me,” Kamcev replies. “I spoke with him on Monday,” Jovanovski’s assumed voice says. “You saw him on Monday?” Kamcev asks. “He won’t cause any problems, I think.” “No, no” Jovanovski’s assumed voice agrees. In a press release issued on Saturday, Prime Minister Zaev denied involvement in any wrongdoing, saying that the suspect in the so-called Extortion case – meaning Jovanovski – was clearly misusing his name “in order to strengthen his position of power and authority over the other interlocutor”. He added: “I categorically deny any connection, cooperation or communication with the suspect Bojan Jovanovski in relation to the ‘Extortion’ case, or any other issues that are now a subject of investigation in this case.” Zaev insisted that he had only talked to Jovanovski about humanitarian activities linked to the latter’s humanitarian organisation. Jovanovski and his suspected accomplice, Zoran Milevski, alias Zoki Kiceec, were both detained on July 15, when the regular Prosecution for Organised Crime and Corruption opened an investigation into the alleged extortion case. Since Thursday, La Verita has uploaded three videos on YouTube, each adding more weight to the “Extortion” scandal. The first video showed the counting of banknotes, which were then placed in what appears to be a Louis Vuitton bag. Later it showed the two suspects leaving what is reportedly the home of Kamcev with what appears to be the same bag. The second upload on Friday contained eight audio recordings of what appears to be conversations between Kamcev, Jovanovski and Milevski. It was then that La Verita claimed that in one of these tapes, the voice of Special Prosecution chief Janeva could be heard. The ruling Social Democrats have said they suspect that the publication of the videos forms part of a plan to undermine and topple their government by implicating it in wrongdoings. The former ruling VMRO DPMNE party, which has long been opposed to the Special Prosecution, has said that Zaev must now resign and allow early elections.

https://balkaninsight.com/2019/09/24...xtortion-case/

September 24, 2019

Two key suspects in the case that has gripped North Macedonia since the summer - commonly known as the ‘Extortion’ affair - have refused to give statements to the Organised Crime Prosecution as the prosecution wraps up the investigation. One suspect, former Chief Special Prosecutor Katica Janeva, refused to comment on Tuesday as she was brought before the Organised Crime Prosecution. She had asked to see the evidence against her first. “She [Janeva] will use her right to personally inspect the evidence and afterwards she will give an appropriate statement regarding the case,” Janeva’s lawyer Irena Frckoska told media on Tuesday. The first suspect in the case, businessman Bojan Jovanovski, who was brought before the prosecutors on Monday, also did not give a statement, offering the same explanation. The ‘Extortion’ scandal has rocked the government of Social Democrat Prime Minister Zoran Zaev and undermined the credibility of the country’s anti-corruption drive. It erupted in July when businessman Bojan Jovanovski and alleged accomplice Zoran Milevski were arrested on suspicion of extorting money from another businessman, Orce Kamcev. The prosecution alleged that they took cash from Kamcev in exchange for a promise to help him avoid jail or receive a lighter sentence in another case by using their alleged influence with Janeva’s office. Jovanovski and Milevski have denied the claims. Janeva was arrested in August 21 and also placed in detention. She is suspected of misusing her office, but has also denied any wrongdoing. The Organised Crime Prosecution announced on Monday that it has wrapped up its investigation into the case.
“After an overall analysis of the material and verbal evidence that has been gathered, the prosecution in charge… has concluded the investigative procedure into the suspected persons,” the prosecution said in a brief press statement. This means that the suspects and their defence now have 15 days to look at the prosecution’s evidence and to propose their own evidence that might count in their favour. After this, it is expected that the prosecution will proceed with pressing charges if it decides that enough evidence have been gathered. However, the prosecution has not yet revealed whether it had traced the alleged 1.5 million euros that Jovanovski and his accomplice Milevski are suspected to have extorted from businessman Kamcev. It also remains to be seen whether the case will also entangle others apart from the three suspects who are already being probed. Unnamed sources from the prosecution told BIRN on Tuesday that the investigation has followed three paths, all with the first suspect, Jovanovski, as the centrepiece.
The first was the actual extortion affair, over which the three suspects ended up in detention. The second part of the investigation has been focusing on allegations that other businessmen might also have been victims of similar extortion schemes. Several businessmen have already been summoned to the prosecution to give statements. The third part of the investigation unofficially centred around Jovanovski’s humanitarian organisation, called International Alliance. The prosecution has been checking for possible suspicious financial activities to see whether prominent people, including office-holder, have been pressured to donate money for, or facilitate in other ways, the announced construction of homes for elderly people by the organisation. Almost all the leading figures from Jovanovski’s International Alliance have already been summoned for questioning, including the financial coordinator Jovanka Kuhar and the head of the organisation’s assembly, Agapi Dika. The investigation also summoned for grilling two ruling Social Democrat MPs – Frosina Remenski, who has been the honorary president of Jovanovski’s humanitarian organisation, and Aleksandar Kiracovski. Despite much speculations and photos in which Remenski and Kiracovski appear with Jovanovski being posted on social media, both have claimed that they were not very close to him. Two municipal mayors from the ranks of the ruling party have also been summoned for statements – Bitola mayor Natasha Petrovska and Stefan Bogoev, the mayor of Skopje’s Karposh municipality. Petrovska and Bogoev have both signed cooperation memorandums with Jovanovski’s organisation for the building of the homes for elderly people.

https://balkaninsight.com/2019/10/10...xtortion-case/

October 10, 2019

North Macedonia’s State Prosecution on Thursday laid charges against the country’s former head special prosecutor on two grounds, for “taking a reward for illegal influence” and for “misuse in office”. Katica Janeva is the second person to be accused in the high-profile “Extortion” case that has rocked the country since the summer. She is charged with taking a 50,000-euro bribe plus a reward in furniture worth another 5,000 euros from the businessman Orce Kamcev in order to ease his legal plight. The first accused in the case, the showman-turned-businessman Bojan Jovanovski, aka, Boki 13, is also charged with taking bribes as well as money laundering. The third accused, Jovanovski’s partner, Zoran Milevski, is charged with taking a bribe. Under the charges that the prosecution said that it had sent on Thursday to the Skopje Criminal Court, Jovanovski used his influence with Janeva during the period of November 2018 to April 2019, when she was head of the Special Prosecution, SJO, to get Kamcev out of detention and regain his passport. Kamcev was in detention at the time as a suspect in an investigation codenamed “Empire”, instigated by Janeva’s own office, the Special Prosecution. Milevski had meanwhile been arranging contacts between Jovanovski and Kamcev’s wife, and later with Kamcev himself, assuring them of Jovanovski’s influence with Janeva. The charges further state that Kamcev’s wife paid the first half million euros, after which Janeva proposed that Kamcev be transferred to house arrest – which the court then accepted. When the second tranche of money came, for another 1 million euros, Janeva gave consent for Kamcev’s passport to be temporarily returned to him. On this occasion, the prosecution states that Janeva took 50,000 euros for herself, plus furniture costing about 5,000 euros. The rest of the money, the 1.5 million euros, went to Jovanovski and Milevski. The charges further note that Jovanovski may have used some of the money that he acquired through crime to buy luxury goods and services. “Although unemployed, with a blocked transaction account and without income, the first suspect [Jovanovski], at the beginning of this year was purchasing luxury furniture, garments and shoes and had been staying at luxury resorts,” the prosecution wrote. The prosecution on Thursday also demanded that the court extend detention for the three suspects, who are now formally accused.
Janeva’s lawyer, Irena Frckoska, said her client had taken the news badly and been rushed from detention to a private heart clinic after complaining of high blood pressure and chest pain. “She is being kept at the clinic due to suspicion that she might be in a pre-heart attack condition,” Frckoska said. The case hit the headlines when Jovanovski and Milevski were arrested in July 15. They have been in detention ever since and have have denied the claims made against them. Janeva was detained on August 21 and also placed in detention, and has also denied wrongdoing. On Wednesday, the prosecution opened a fresh investigation against Jovanovski and four new suspects, which centres around suspected illegal dealings and fraud within Jovanovski’s humanitarian NGO, the International Alliance. One of the fresh suspects grilled in court on Thursday was the vice-president of parliament and a senior politician in Prime Minister Zoran Zaev’s ruling Social Democratic party, Frosina Remenski. She was a former honorary president of the NGO.

[Soldier of Macedon]

https://balkaninsight.com/2019/11/20...dants-release/

November 20, 2019

The Appeals Court in Skopje spoke out on Wednesday in defence of judges who approved the conditional release from prison of the country’s former chief special prosecutor Katica Janeva, after the prosecutor leading the case threatened to have them investigated for foul play. In a written statement after an extraordinary session, the Appeals Court said the conduct of Organised Crime Chief Prosecutor Vilma Ruskoska represented “a direct threat and crude interference in the work of the court.” The Court had approved a request, on health grounds, for Katica Janeva to be released from prison and transferred to house arrest. Janeva, one of three people charged in the so-called ‘Extortion’ case that has rocked North Macedonia since the summer, was transferred on Tuesday. Janeva, who led North Macedonia’s special prosecution office, is accused of taking tens of thousands of euros in bribes. She was taken into custody in August but denies the charges. The trial is set to begin on December 3. Responding to her release from prison, Ruskoska told Deutsche Welle: “This is disgraceful. What kind of message are we sending with this decision? Let us not forget that this is a very specific case and is being monitored by the international public.” Ruskoska threatened to instigate a financial probe into the three Appeals Court judges who took the decision. “There’s no EU with these kinds of judges,” she said, in apparent reference to EU pressure to root out corrupt judges before a country can advance to accession. The Extortion case is widely seen as a litmus test of North Macedonia’s judicial system and commitment rule of law.In its own response, the Appeals Court alleged Ruskoska had sent a threatening SMS message on Tuesday evening to one of the judges in which allegedly threatened the judge with a financial investigation. Such “indecent” behaviour, the Court wrote, “breaches the principle of judicial independence” and can harm North Macedonia’s EU integration aspirations. The State Prosecutor’s Office, of which Ruskoska’s Organised Crime Prosecution is a part, waded into the row on Wednesday with a statement saying that, while it “respects and does not interfere in the work of the courts”, Ruskoska’s words should be seen “as an expression of momentary disappointment” following news of Janeva’s release. Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, who has been widely criticised for not yet fulfilling a 2016 election promise to vet judges, declined to comment on the row on Wednesday.

https://balkaninsight.com/2019/11/22...s-big-bonuses/

November 22, 2019

Katica Janeva, currently under house arrest awaiting trial on charges of receiving bribes, received more than 150,000 euros in bonuses and expenses on top of her still-secret official salary, according to data dug up by BIRN from a database of budget expenditures between 2010 and 2017. Janeva received most of the money in the form of bonuses for confidentiality, obliging her to keep secret the mountains of classified information she was privy to in the course of sifting through thousands of wiretaps received by the ruling Social Democrats when they were in opposition in 2015. Her first confidentiality bonus was paid out in November 2015, with payments varying between 1,600 euros and 4,000 euros. The sums were paid out roughly, but not always, monthly – 46 payments in the 46 months she spent in office. She also received 400 euros per month to cover the rent for her accommodation in the capital, Skopje, and 42 euros per month for working outside her hometown of Gevgelija, near the border with Greece. Janeva was the first head of North Macedonia’s Special Prosecution, formed in 2015 to investigate high-level crime. Her salary was kept confidential, and, like the earnings of other public sector employees, is not included in the Finance Ministry database published on Wednesday. Confidentiality bonuses are envisaged in the law that established the Special Prosecution. Sources who spoke to BIRN under condition of anonymity said Janeva herself determined the size of the individual payments. The database reveals that other Special Prosecution employees also received confidentiality bonuses, though they were all smaller than those paid to Janeva. Janeva is accused of taking tens of thousands of euros in bribes as part of a high-profile case dubbed ‘Extortion’ and that has rocked North Macedonia since the summer. She was taken into custody in August but denies the charges. The trial is set to begin on December 3.

https://balkaninsight.com/2019/11/26...ution-offices/

November 26, 2019

The Prosecution for Organised Crime confirmed to the national news agency MIA that it sent its own investigators into the Special Prosecution, SJO, premises on Tuesday. The prosecution said that the investigators were searching for financial documents and data. The move came after BIRN published a report on Friday that Janeva, who is currently under house arrest awaiting trial on charges of receiving bribes, had received more than 150,000 euros in bonuses and expenses on top of her still-secret official salary. The figure is based on data extracted by BIRN from a recently-released database of budget expenditures between 2010 and 2017. Janeva received most of the money in the form of bonuses for confidentiality, obliging her to keep secret the classified information to which she was privy in the course of sifting through thousands of secretly wiretapped conversations that were received by the ruling Social Democrats when they were in opposition in 2015. The same database showed that other SJO prosecutors and employees have also received bonuses in lesser amounts. “Only financial documents are being taken. This is [part of] a pre-investigation procedure which was opened as a right of office, after the amount of the bonuses was published. If we determine that there is ground for criminal deeds, we will open an investigation into the bonuses,” North Macedonia’s Chief Public Prosecutor Ljubomir Jovevski told media. Confidentiality bonuses were envisaged in the law that established the Special Prosecution, with the amounts determined based on various risk factors, and were in line with what similarly-ranked officials in neighbouring countries also receive as bonuses, sources from the Special Prosecution told Deutsche Welle on Tuesday on condition of anonymity. “To determine of the sums… the potential danger to which the special prosecutors and the employees were exposed also played a role,” the sources told Deutsche Welle. Janeva is accused of taking tens of thousands of euros in bribes as part of a high-profile case dubbed ‘Extortion’ that has rocked North Macedonia since the summer. She was taken into custody in August but denies the charges. The trial is set to begin on December 3.

[Soldier of Macedon]

https://balkaninsight.com/2019/12/03...with-surprise/

December 3, 2019

The trial of three people in the case which has shaken North Macedonia since the summer opened on Tuesday at Skopje Criminal Court, with one of the accused, businessman Zoran Milevski, unexpectedly pleading guilty. “Yes, I feel guilt,” Milevski told the court, adding that he was aware of the consequences and was admitting guilt “consciously and without any pressures”. Former chief special prosecutor Katica Janeva pleaded not guilty. “I don’t feel the slightest guilt,” Janeva told the court. Janeva is charged with misuse of office. She faces at least three years in jail if convicted. The first accused in the case, the entertainer-turned-businessman Bojan Jovanovski, alias Boki 13, also pleaded not guilty. Jovanovski is charged on two counts – taking bribes and money-laundering. His potential sentence is up to ten years for taking bribes, plus up to ten years on top of that for money-laundering. The third accused, Jovanovski’s partner, Zoran Milevski, who pleaded guilty, is charged with taking a bribe. The trial started with a one-hour delay because Jovanovski initially complained of having nausea and not being able to follow and participate in the trial. After a brief medical examination, the judge allowed the trial to start. The trial has drawn vast media attention in North Macedonia, as some media outlets have already called it “the [court] process of the year” because it deals with the downfall of Janeva, who was formerly praised for leading the Special Prosecution. The Special Prosecution was established in 2015 amid a political crisis centred around widespread corruption allegations and seen as a spearhead for restoring hope in the country’s discredited judiciary. Under the charges, that the Organized Crime Prosecution filed in October, Jovanovski used his influence with Janeva during the period of November 2018 to April 2019, when she was head of the Special Prosecution, to get businessman Orce Kamcev out of detention and regain his passport. Kamcev was in detention at the time as a suspect in an investigation codenamed ‘Empire’, instigated by Janeva’s own office, the Special Prosecution. Milevski had meanwhile been arranging contacts between Jovanovski and Kamcev’s wife, and later with Kamcev himself, assuring them of Jovanovski’s influence with Janeva. The charges further state that Kamcev’s wife paid half a million euros, after which Janeva proposed that Kamcev be transferred to house arrest – which the court then accepted. When the second tranche of money came, another one million euros, Janeva gave consent for Kamcev’s passport to be temporarily returned to him. On this occasion, the prosecution alleged that Janeva took 50,000 euros for herself, plus furniture costing about 5,000 euros. The prosecution claims that the rest of the money, 1.5 million euros, went to Jovanovski and Milevski. According to previous statements, Janeva’s defence will try to dispute the charges pressed against her by insisting that all of her actions were in line with her duty as chief prosecutor, and that she made contact with the businessman Kamcev not to extort money but to try to negotiate his cooperation with the prosecution as a possible witness. Her lawyers are also complaining of obstruction of her right for defence, claiming that ahead of the trial, they only received part of the evidence laid against her by the prosecution. The case hit the headlines when Jovanovski and Milevski were arrested in July. Jovanovski has been in detention ever since while Milevski was subsequently released to house arrest. Janeva was detained in August and also placed in detention. She has denied wrongdoing. She was put under house arrest in November, causing an angry reaction from the head of the Organised Crime Prosecution, Vilma Ruskoska, which has been in charge of the case. The case has been rocking the political scene as well, amid allegations that high-ranking government and ruling Social Democratic party officials may have been involved in this or similar racketeering or money-laundering schemes. In October, the prosecution opened up a fresh investigation into Jovanovski and four new suspects, which centres around suspected illegal dealings and fraud within Jovanovski’s humanitarian NGO, the International Alliance. One of the new suspects who was grilled in court was the vice-president of parliament, a senior politician in Prime Minister Zoran Zaev’s ruling Social Democratic party, Frosina Remenski. She was a former honorary president of the NGO and she also denied any wrongdoing.

https://balkaninsight.com/2019/12/04...-jail-verdict/

December 4, 2019

In the first verdict of the high-profile trial that has gripped North Macedonia, the Criminal Court in Skopje on Wednesday found businessman Zoran Milevski guilty of taking a bribe and jailed him for three years in a first-instance verdict that he can appeal. He had faced a maximum sentence of ten years. Chief Organised Crime Prosecutor Vilma Ruskoska told the media she was fairly satisfied with the result. “The issued sentence is all right, and I will decide later whether to appeal it. I did not expect a longer sentence because … he had not been sentenced before and had admitted guilt.” Milevski, the least well known of the trio on trial in the so-called “Extortion” case, pleaded guilty at the start of the trial on Tuesday. He was the only one to do so. Much more attention, in this case, has focused on former Chief Special Prosecutor Katica Janeva, the second accused, and on the showman-turned-businessman Bojan Jovanovski, alias Boki 13, the first accused. They both pleaded not guilty on Tuesday. Janeva is charged with misuse of office and faces at least three years in jail if convicted. Jovanovski is charged on two counts – of taking bribes and of money-laundering. He faces a sentence of up to ten years for taking bribes, plus up to ten years more for money-laundering. The trial has drawn enormous attention in North Macedonia, where some media outlets have called it the “process of the year”, mainly because Janeva, ironically, formerly ran the Special Prosecution office established to stamp out high-level crime. The Special Prosecution was established in 2015 amid a political crisis centred around corruption allegations and was seen as a way to restore faith in the country’s discredited judiciary. Under charges that the Organised Crime Prosecution filed in October, Jovanovski used his influence with Janeva from November 2018 to April 2019, while she headed the Special Prosecution, to get Kamcev out of detention and regain his passport in exchange for 1.5 million euros in compensation. Kamcev was detained at the time as a suspect in another investigation codenamed “Empire”, instigated by Janeva’s own Special Prosecution office. Milevski had meanwhile been arranging contacts between Jovanovski and Kamcev’s wife, and later with Kamcev himself, assuring them of Jovanovski’s influence with Janeva.

https://balkaninsight.com/2019/12/06...tortion-trial/

December 6, 2019

In a lengthy testimony before Skopje’s Criminal Court, which lasted for more than five hours, businessman Orce Kamcev supported the prosecution’s claim in the “Extortion” case that he had been a victim of extortion by the showman-turned-politician Bojan Jovanovski, former chief Special Prosecutor Katica Janeva and another businessman, Zoran Milevski, who was sentenced to jail on Wednesday after admitting guilt. Jovanovski is charged with using his influence with Janeva from November 2018 to April 2019, while she headed the Special Prosecution, SJO, to get Kamcev out of detention and regain his passport. Kamcev was detained at the time as a suspect in an investigation codenamed “Empire”, instigated by Janeva’s Special Prosecution office. Kamcev insisted to the court that he was put in detention after he refused to pay money to Jovanovski that he had requested on several occasions. The SJO launched the “Empire” investigation in November 2018. In it, Kamcev – who Forbes named as North Macedonia’s wealthiest person in 2016 – and former secret police chief Saso Mijalkov were among 13 persons suspected of criminal association, fraud, money laundering and other crimes, allegedly committed between 2002 and 2013. Kamcev is still a suspect in the case and his passport is still taken from him. He told the court that the case against him was “shamefully constructed”. He said that during the first hearing before the Special Prosecution, Janeva had implicitly mentioned his dealings with Jovanovski, suggesting that he should cooperate with him. “I saw that the situation was serious and that there was no justice, and I understood that this was bullying,” Kamcev said.
He added that in the eyes of the public at that time he was now seen as a criminal, while Janeva still enjoyed the reputation of a crime fighter. Kamcev had offered a guarantee amounting to 14 million euros so that he could be released to house detention, but the prosecution rejected the offer. Kamcev said that this was done so that Jovanovski and Janeva “could nibble” away at his fortune “like hyenas”. Ending his court testimony, Kamcev told the media that he would demand back all of the 1.5 million euros that he gave to the accused. He said that further evidence laid before the court would determine whether Jovanovski or Janeva were the masterminds behind the extortion scheme. The trial has drawn enormous attention in North Macedonia, where some media outlets have called it the “process of the year”, mainly because Janeva, ironically, formerly ran the Special Prosecution office established to stamp out high-level crime. She is charged with misuse of office and faces at least three years in jail if convicted. Jovanovski is charged on two counts – of taking bribes and of money-laundering. He faces a sentence of up to ten years for taking bribes, plus up to ten years more for money-laundering.

[Soldier of Macedon]

https://balkaninsight.com/2020/01/29...tortion-trial/

January 29, 2020

As the high-profile “Extortion” trial continued in North Macedonia on Wednesday, a witness recalled the furnishings obtained by the now-disgraced head of the Special Prosecution Office, SJO, Katica Janeva. The leather sofa and accompanying furniture seized during the arrest of the former chief Special Prosecutor in August were personally picked by showman–turned-businessman Bojan Jovanovski – and his private 1TV station was supposed to pay the 5000-euro bill, but never did, the manager of the furniture company testified. Lidija Mladenovic, manager of Zona Mebel, recognised the seized furniture among the photo evidence shown on Wednesday in the court, adding that the bill for them was never paid. In the trial in North Macedonia, Jovanovski, alias Boki 13, is the first accused while former Chief Special Prosecutor Janeva is the second. Janeva is charged with misuse of office and faces at least three years in jail if convicted. Jovanovski is charged with taking bribes and with money-laundering, and faces up to ten years in jail for taking bribes, plus up to ten more years for money-laundering. Some media outlets have called it the “trial of the year”, mainly because Janeva, ironically, formerly ran the office that was established to stamp out high-level crime. Locally famous quiz show host Lila Filipovska, a former close friend of Jovanovski’s, also testified in the court on Wednesday. Insisting that they were no longer friends, Filipovska was in the same vehicle along with two other persons when Jovanovski was arrested last summer near a border crossing with neighbouring Greece. While media speculated that Jovanovski had been arrested while trying to flee the country, Filipovska insisted that they were only going on vacation to Mykonos in Greece. “Bojan planned the vacation. He said that everything was organised, probably paid in advance. I never got to find out,” she told the court. Back when they were good friends, Filipovska said she had donated cash and lent money to Jovanovski’s TV station on two occasions. “He asked me for a 20-000-euro donation for 1 TV and I gave it to help him. In August 2018, I also loaned 500,000 denars [about 8,000 euro] paid to the account of BJM Media Group, the owner of the TV,” she said. After the prosecution noted that before lending the 500,000 denars to Jovanovski, this sum was transferred to her own account, she insisted that the money was her own, denying that she had been part of a money-laundering scheme. “No one transferred me money so I could then transfer it to the TV. I told the Organised Crime Prosecution this as well,” Stojanovska told the court. Appeal Court judge Meri Dika, an old friend of Javanovski’s mother, also testified. After the prosecution attempted to find out what they had purchased during their trip to Milan, in 2019, she gave only vague answers, saying that they spent a lot, as she knew that Jovanovski was financially well off. The session ended with Jovanovski threatening to file 19 criminal charges, including against the Organised Crime Prosecution head Vilma Ruskoska, for an alleged crime worth 4 million euros. He did not give any more details. According to the charges, Jovanovski used his influence with Janeva from November 2018 to April 2019, when she was head of the SJO, to get a businessman, Orce Kamcev, out of detention and regain his passport. Kamcev was in detention as a suspect in an investigation codenamed “Empire”, instigated by Janeva’s own office. Earlier this week, the trial heard testimonies from two prosecutors, Lile Stefanova and Burim Rustemi, who said that their former boss, Janeva, had sought a financial settlement and giving up charges in two cases run by her former subordinates, including the case codenamed “Empire” in which Kamcev was a suspect. The questioning of the witnesses is now over. From Thursday, the evidence, including video and audio recordings of the accused, will be presented.

https://balkaninsight.com/2020/02/12...ges-from-zaev/

February 12, 2020

In the ongoing court case that has gripped North Macedonia, codenamed Extortion, Prosecutor Ivana Trajceva on Tuesday presented messages that the main suspect, the showman-turned-businessman Bojan Jovanovski, sent to the Prime Minister, among other people, found in his seized electronic devices. In the messages, sent in April 2019, a month before the Organised Crime Prosecution launched its investigation into the case, Jovanovski expressed his wish to meet then then Prime Minister and Social Democrat leader, Zoran Zaev, insisting that he had never “misused” his name – presumably to extort money from other people. According to the evidence, Zaevs response was cold. “I have seen the evidence. I am bitter and [am about] to make serious decisions. These things are awful and as a Prime Minister I am obliged to act,” one message with Zaev’s name on it said. Another message reveals that Zaev wrote to tell Jovanovski that, “We will see and confront each other. This is a clear extortion. I have seen the evidence.” Jovanovski, alias Boki 13, is the first accused in the trial. The second is Katica Janeva, former head of the now almost defunct Special Prosecution Office, SJO, which was established, ironically, to probe high-level crime. According to the charges, Jovanovski used his influence with Janeva from November 2018 to April 2019, while she headed the SJO, to get the businessman Orce Kamcev out of detention and regain his passport. Kamcev was then in detention as a suspect in another investigation, codenamed “Empire”, instigated by Janeva’s office. The “Extortion” affair rocked the Zaev government amid speculation that Jovanovski, who was seen as close to the political elite and was the informal owner of a now defunct TV station, 1TV, which supported the government, could not have embarked on his extortion scheme without the knowledge or even involvement of the government. Zaev has insisted he had nothing to do with it, and that he was the one who reported the case to the prosecution in the first place, having seen some of the evidence against Jovanovski and Janeva, which Kamcev allegedly presented to him. However, the prosecution in January filed criminal charges against one high-profile member of his Social Democratic Party, SDSM, the vice president of parliament, Frosina Remenski, as part of a fresh case linked to the “Extortion” case. The new case focuses on the dealings of Jovanovski’s humanitarian charity, the International Alliance, with which Remenski was linked. Otherwise it is practically an extension of the “Extortion” case. Remensi is the third accused in this case, charged with assisting fraud. Jovanovski is again the first accused. Zaev stepped down as Prime Minister in January to pave the way for the formation of a caretaker government, which includes ministers from the opposition, tasked with organising the April 12 early general elections.