Skopje, 6 January 2024 (MIA) — An international arrest warrant has been issued for the former deputy director of the Public Revenue Office Ismet Guri, according to the Skopje Criminal Court.

Guri had been under house arrest, but the Public Prosecutor's Office appealed the court ruling and subsequently a detention order was issued. But the police did not find him at his place of residence, court sources told MIA. The court issued the arrest warrant on Friday.

Guri was held in jail custody at first and then placed under house arrest over health issues. He had been arrested in July 2023 along with 15 people, including businessmen and Public Revenue Office inspectors, on suspicion of criminal association and tax fraud.

He had also been sentenced to three and a half months in prison in the Titanic 3 trial, together with Ejup Alimi, over destruction of election materials in the 2013 local elections. A prominent DUI member until Izet Mexhiti left the party, Guri later joined Mexhiti's newly founded Democratic Movement. mr/