Skopje, 7 December 2023 (MIA) – Malta’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has terminated former Deputy Prime Minister Kocho Angjushev’s position as honorary consul of Malta due to his “blacklisting” by the United States, the Times of Malta reports.

The Maltese Government appointed Angjushev as Malta’s honorary consul in Skopje in October 2021.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of State designated Kocho Angjushev as generally ineligible for entry into the United States, “due to his involvement in significant corruption”.

“While serving as Deputy Prime Minister, Angjushev abused his official position to benefit his private business interests, undermining the confidence of North Macedonia’s public in their government institutions and public processes,” said the State Department in a press release.

Times of Malta writes that Angjushev has described himself as a “sincere friend” of Malta. A spokesperson of the Maltese MFA told the newspaper the ministry never received any negative information about Angjushev since his appointment in 2021.

“In light of such developments, the ministry is terminating his appointment with immediate effect and is following closely the latest developments,” he added.

Angjushev last visited Malta in April, where he met Foreign Minister Ian Borg. In Valletta, he met several economic entities and had talks with Malta’s Agency for Foreign Investments.

After his “blacklisting” by the U.S., the former Deputy Prime Minister came out with a press release denying all suspicions raised by the State Department, and said he would appeal the decision.

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