site.btaUPDATED Former Director of North Macedonia Customs Administration Arrested, Opposition Party SDSM Says Case Is Staged

North Macedonia Customs Administration former director and former Karposh Municipality mayor Stefan Bogoev, nominated by the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM), was arrested in an operation by the Financial Police Office, local media reported on Wednesday.

Later in the day, the Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office for Prosecuting Organized Crime and Corruption of North Macedonia announced that it has launched an investigation targeting Bogoev. The investigation, which involves at least four individuals, focuses on suspicions of abuse of official authority and alleged irregularities related to a tender within the Customs Administration. The prosecutor’s office has asked for Bogoev’s detention, as well as that of the former deputy director of the Customs Administration, the manager of a legal entity, and an employee of that same legal entity.

The prosecutor’s office claims that "there is reasonable suspicion that, between July 2023 and March 2024, the suspects manipulated the public procurement procedure for external sanitation services at border checkpoints and terminals." 

"The suspects favoured a specific economic operator, restricted competition, and allowed the legal entity to obtain an unlawful financial benefit amounting to MKD 18,479,692 (nearly EUR 300,000)," the statement reads.

Earlier on Wednesday, the opposition Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM) confirmed Bogoev’s arrest. In a statement, the party said that "on the day European Council President Antonio Costa arrived in [North] Macedonia and confirmed that there is no way out of the deadlock without the inclusion of minorities in the Constitution, [North Macedonia's Prime Minister Hristijan] Mickoski arrested Bogoev".

"Is there anyone who would say that this is real, or is it a staged case on the day when Mickoski is receiving criticism, when all his lies to the citizens have been exposed? Is this political persecution, an attempt to divert attention from the EU criticism, after it was once again confirmed that [North] Macedonia is at a standstill due to crime and corruption in the Government and the failure to implement reforms? Mickoski himself, who acts as the organizer of every process in the country, knows this best. With his 'feelings', Mickoski has been publicly announcing this arrest for days. While he is staging spectacles for the public, many serious questions remain unanswered," the SDSM said.

According to the opposition party, VMRO-DPMNE’s rating is falling because of Mickoski's lies and the Bogoev case is "yet another PR campaign by VMRO-DPMNE, while [North] Macedonia needs an independent judiciary, an independent prosecution service and cooperation with the European Public Prosecutor’s Office".