The Skopje Appellate Court has upheld the acquittal of former Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski by the Skopje Criminal Court ruling that the appeal of the prosecution was groundless.
The Appellate Court’s verdict was issued after a closed session on August 26 and after reviewing the case files, and taking into account the proposal of the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Skopje.
The “Talir 2”case is related to the construction of the VMRO-DPMNE headquarters in the center of Skopje.
“During the proceedings and decision-making, the court assessed that the actions taken by the defendant N.G., as a responsible person in the legal entity, are within his authorizations and no evidence was presented by the Skopje Public Prosecutor’s Office that the defendant’s actions are contrary to the Law on Financing of Political Parties. During the proceedings, the Skopje Public Prosecutor’s Office, as an authorized prosecutor, did not prove beyond reasonable doubt that GP Beton had the status of an entity that, at the time of concluding the contracts with the political party, performed public services within the meaning of the above-mentioned law, so that there was no legal prohibition on donating funds to the political party, nor was there an obligation for the defendant as a responsible person of the political party to return those funds,” reads the court’s press release.
The decision of the Skopje Appellate Court, on the specific case, will be available in full on the court’s website, in accordance with the Law on Courts and the Law on Management of the Movement of Cases in the courts, of which the public will be additionally informed.
On July 14 this year, the Skopje Basic Criminal Court acquitted former Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski of charges in the “Talir 2” case for exceeding official authority and illegally financing the construction of his party’s headquarters.
