Skopje, 16 January 2026 (MIA) — The Skopje Criminal Court has ordered 30 days in pretrial detention for eight suspects arrested Thursday during the searches prosecutors and police conducted at several locations in the country on suspicion of criminal association, money laundering, tax fraud and tax evasion.

According to the Skopje Criminal Court, the detention order is to prevent the suspects from repeating the crime, influencing key witnesses or fleeing to avoid criminal proceedings.

Investigators from the Basic Prosecutor's Office for Organized Crime and Corruption, assisted by police, have carried out searches at 16 locations nationwide, seizing documents, cash, firearms and fake seals, while detaining suspects in the process.

Sufficient evidence have been secured as grounds for suspicion of a financial crime, with 20 individuals suspected of siphoning nearly Mden 300 million (EUR 4.8 million) off the national budget, the Prosecutor's Office said in a press release.

The prosecutor's office proceeded with the operation in cooperation with the Financial Intelligence Unit, upon a notification from the National Security Agency.

The primary suspect, a Serbian national and owner of two legal entities, along with two other persons employed in the Public Revenue Office (PRO)-Skopje Office, set up a group in 2023, with the intention of committing crimes of tax evasion, tax fraud, money laundering, and abuse of office. Over a two-year period, the group also involved other businessmen, managers, and employees in legal entities registered in Skopje and Gevgelija.

By presenting inaccurate data in tax returns and with the assistance of the PRO employees, the primary suspect evaded paying taxes in the amount of Mden 11.6 million (EUR 188,000) in 2023-2024. In addition, the other suspects presented false tax refund applications for non-resident legal entities, which the PRO employees approved, thus damaging the national budget by Mden 31.2 million (EUR 507,000).

In parallel, some of the suspects transferred and took out cash in the amount of Mden 92 million (EUR 1.5 million) in order to conceal the origin of the funds. The evidence point to the fact that the suspected PRO employees, some of whom at managerial positions, abused their office and damaged the national budget by at least Mden 163 million (EUR 2.65 million).

The public prosecutor has found that the conditions for detention of ten suspects have been met. A motion for detention of eight persons was filed before a pre-trial judge, while two were already in detention for another case related to the Agency for Financial Support in Agriculture and Rural Development.

Precautionary measures have been sought for the remaining ten suspects, including a ban on activities linked to the crime and activities in the capacity of PRO officials. ik/mr