The Main Public Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime and Corruption (PPO OCC) has closed the case for public procurement for the construction of 19 modular hospitals in Macedonia, the Prosecutor’s Office told a press briefing Thursday.
Prosecutor Verica Berzhecka Krsteva, said that after analyzing extensive and complex documentation, there is no reasonable suspicion of abuse of official position and authority in public procurement. The case was first handled by prosecutor Vilma Ruskovska, then Elizabeta Josifovska.
“During the procedure, documentation was collected from the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Finance – Public Procurement Bureau, the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, the Ministry of Health, the Government, the Tetovo Public Prosecutor’s Office and other institutions. The public procurement procedures, technical specifications, contracts, project documentation and relevant legislation were analyzed.
From the analysis of the entire documentation and the checks carried out, the Prosecutor’s Office did not establish facts that would indicate that in the procurement procedures an official used or exceeded his official position or authority, i.e. did not perform his official duty, in order to obtain significant material benefit or cause significant damage.
According to the applicable legal framework, the established facts do not meet the legal requirements of the criminal offense of Abuse of Official Position and Authority. Hence, the competent public prosecutor assessed that there are no grounds for suspicion that a criminal offense prosecuted ex officio was committed, which is why there is no room for further “public prosecutor’s action in the case,” the PPO informed.
The case was launched September 10, 2021, after a report was received following the fire at the modular hospital in Tetovo. Fourteen people died and a dozen were injured in the modular hospital fire on September 8, 2021.
