site.btaProsecutors Seek House Arrest for Judge after EUR 350,000 Found in Home

The Public Prosecutor’s Office for Prosecuting Organized Crime and Corruption in North Macedonia has requested a pre-trial measure of house arrest for Skopje Appellate Court Judge Gjoko Ristov, in whose family home police discovered EUR 350,000 concealed in a wall, this country's Ministry of Interior said on Sunday.

The Criminal Court in Skopje confirmed it had received the prosecution’s request and notified the Judicial Council, which must decide whether to lift Judge Ristov’s immunity to allow the requested measure to be applied.

Since the announcement, media outlets have been seeking the whereabouts of the appellate judge. The money was found at his parents’ home in Negotino, as part of a broad investigation by the Prosecutor’s Office.

The prosecution stated that the funds are suspected to have been obtained illegally. The operation is an extension of an investigation launched on December 14, following allegations that lawyer and former state prosecutor Fehmi Stafa had accepted a bribe.

According to the prosecution, between October and December 13, Stafa received a total of EUR 50,000 to mediate and influence a judge at the Skopje Appellate Court in a case involving his client. The pre-trial measure initially imposed on Stafa’s client and confirmed by the Appellate Court was later replaced with house arrest.

The Judicial Council in Skopje has scheduled a session to consider lifting the immunity of the Appellate Court judge.

Judges in North Macedonia enjoy immunity while performing their official duties. Under the Law on Courts, a judge cannot be detained without the approval of the Judicial Council, except when caught committing a crime punishable by at least five years’ imprisonment.