The Public Prosecutor’s Office (PPO) is investigating forged driver’s licenses, which are suspected of being purchased for EUR 1,400 per category. Suspicions of forging more than 300 driver’s licenses from categories C and D have prompted the re-examination of over 50 cases by the Internal Control of the Ministry of Interior (MoI).
The Internal Control of the Ministry of Interior and the Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office are investigating suspicions of illegal addition of categories to driver’s licenses.
According to sources, there are suspicions that citizens paid EUR 1,400 each, and then reported the license as lost or damaged. During the processing of the new document, the suspected police officers added the necessary category without following the legal procedure.
Internal control has received more than 50 cases, while according to unofficial information, over 300 driving licenses may have been issued in this way. It is suspected that categories for driving heavy vehicles were most often added.
The Ministry of Interior (MoI) confirmed that the competent prosecutor’s office has been notified of the case. The investigation should determine how many licenses were issued illegally, who the people involved are, and whether among the suspects there are officials previously convicted of similar crimes.
According to Sitel TV, the group that was allegedly involved in issuing fake driving licenses includes people who were previously involved in the fake passport scandal, which was discovered five years ago.
In that case, ten MoI employees were sentenced to prison and suspended sentences. According to the verdict, they charged several thousand euros for issuing the fake passports, and used data of Macedonian citizens who had never issued a passport, combined with photographs and data of foreign citizens.
More than 200 fake passports were issued, some of which ended up with individuals connected to crime and drug trafficking, as well as with individuals for whom international arrest warrants had been issued.
