Skopje, 23 March 2023 (MIA) - The United States is still not disclosing the names of people who are investigated for corruption and might be blacklisted.

U.S. Ambassador Angela Aggeler told Alsat that institutions in Washington are very cautious in the thorough investigation of the names prior to their disclosure. The investigation involves politicians, people from the judiciary and businessmen. It depends on the country's institutions what it will do with these individuals.

"The United States can sanction individuals but we do not come here to arrest them, we only say that certain financial sanctions are imposed on them or that they can no longer travel to the U.S. Therefore, the U.S. can say 'here are a couple of names of people we will sanction, and the sanctions are in place despite the court judgments but also cannot initiate any court proceedings here. This is up to the Government of North Macedonia, the officials elected by the people of this country. They should say - we want our elected officials to take responsibility for the corruption we are seeing on a daily basis," says Ambassador Aggeler.

On the project for construction of Corridors 8 and 10d, she says institutions should look into allegations over the local company that would act as supervisor, adding that U.S. company "Bechtel" is in no way related to these suspicions.

"This is a separate aspect of the agreement with 'Bechtel-Enka' that was signed 10 days ago, and we are extremely proud over this agreement, which represents the largest-ever infrastructure project in the country. We have been constantly saying if there are allegations of corruption, investigate them. Investigate and if true, press charges. Nevertheless, we are very certain these allegations do not concern Bechtel," says Aggeler.

Photo: Alsat