Skopje, 16 December 2024 (MIA) - Police have been searching the homes of former deputy prime minister Artan Grubi and former State Lottery director Prparim Bajrami, since Monday morning. According to some media reports, searches are being carried out at multiple locations in connection with a crime related to the State Lottery.  

During the police searches, he media report, neither Grubi nor Bajrami were found in their homes.

The Ministry of Interior told MIA that actions are being taken in coordination with a public prosecutor, and Interior Minister Panche Toshkovski will come out with more details at a press conference scheduled for 3 p.m today.

Ex-deputy prime minister Grubi, who was recently “blacklisted” by the U.S. Department of State, posted on Facebook late Sunday that he was on a private visit out of the country.  

"I travelled for a private visit today. Please do not make things up and speculate. I have been travelling regularly with my travel documents and my personal police detail has been notified of this," Grubi said in his post.

On December 9, the U.S. Department of State designated former deputy prime minister of North Macedonia, Artan Grubi, and Enver Bexheti, Court of Appeals judge, for their involvement in significant corruption.

According to the press release, Grubi and Bexheti had accepted bribes to undermine judicial processes tied to the criminal conviction of Sasho Mijalkov, director of North Macedonia’s Administration for Security and Counterintelligence (UBK).

“Mijalkov was designated in 2022 for significant corruption under Section 7031(c), and OFAC sanctioned him pursuant to E.O. 14033. As part of this action, Grubi’s immediate family members are also designated,” said the press release.

Photo: MIA archive