The trial of Artan Grubi, former first deputy prime minister and minister of community relations charged with abuse of public office, has been postponed to September 7, 2026. Judge Biljana Shuplinovska-Jovevski explained that the postponement is necessary so that the defendants and their defense attorneys have sufficient time to inspect the submitted evidence, familiarize themselves with its content, prepare their defense, and submit a list of evidence that they propose to be presented during the procedure.
“The court assessed that the defendants and their defense attorneys should be given the necessary time to inspect the evidence and effectively prepare their defense, taking into account the request of the defense attorney of defendant Bojan Janev for an additional period for preparation, which is why the main hearing is postponed,” the judge noted.
The next hearings are scheduled for September 7, 11, 16, 18, 23, as well as October 2, 8, 9, 15, 16, 20 and 21.
The prosecution is represented by public prosecutors Daniel Kocev and Aleksandar Davchevski. The prosecutors announced the presentation of 231 pieces of material evidence, expert opinions and statements from seven witnesses.
According to the indictment submitted by the Skopje Public Prosecutor’s Office (PPO), Artan Grubi and seven other individuals are accused of causing damage to the State Lottery of over MKD 507 million in 2023 and 2024 by exceeding their official authority. All defendants are charged with the criminal offense of abuse of official position and authority.
The first defendant, the former director of the State Lottery Perparim Bajrami, is still unavailable to law enforcement agencies and his detention upon discovery is being requested, while for Artan Grubi the prosecution is requesting an extension of the house arrest measure.
