Skopje, 28 May 2025 (MIA) - The Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office in Kochani has issued an order for an investigative procedure, expanding the investigation into the fire at the “Pulse” nightclub in Kochani to include the owner of the building that housed the nightclub.

As the owner of the property, the suspect leased the premises to another suspect without submitting a request or obtaining an approval for the change of the use of the building – i.e., for it to be used as a nightclub.

He is suspected as a co-perpetrator of “grave crimes against general safety”.

“Based on actions taken during the ongoing proceedings, evidence has been obtained indicating reasonable suspicion that the suspect, as the owner of the property where the nightclub had operated for years, leased it to one of the suspects without submitting a request or obtaining approval from the relevant authorities for the change of the use of the building. In coordination with the suspected informal owner of the legal entity, the suspect carried out and participated in unauthorized structural modifications conducted at various times between 2012 and March 2025 which resulted in the unlawful change of the building’s designation from G3 – services and transport infrastructure to B3 – large hospitality units, thus enabling the illegal operation of the nightclub/cabaret,” the Prosecutor’s Office said in a press release.

The Office proposed precautionary measures be implemented against the suspect.

The fire that broke out at the “Pulse” nightclub in Kochani on March 16 claimed 63 lives and left nearly 200 injured.

Photo: MIA Archive