The Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office for Prosecuting Organized Crime and Corruption (PPO OCC) has filed an indictment with the Skopje Basic Criminal Court against three individuals who are accused of committing one criminal offense each – Causing Bankruptcy of a Bank under Article 181, paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code, as well as an indictment against one individual for a criminal offense – Negligent Work in the Service under Article 353-c, paragraph 3 in connection with paragraphs 2 and 1 of the Criminal Code.
According to the indictment, the first defendant as president of the Board of Directors and member of the Credit Board, the second defendant as President of the Credit Board and the third defendant as President of the Risk Management Committee and member of the Board of Directors, in the period from 2013 to the second half of 2019, acted contrary to the provisions of the Law on Banking and the bank’s internal acts.
By approving loans to creditworthy and related legal entities, without appropriate analyses and collateral, by concealing the real financial situation and risks, as well as by inaccurate reporting to the National Bank, they contributed to a significant deterioration in the financial situation of Eurostandard Bank AD Skopje. By such actions, they contributed to the bank being brought into bankruptcy, and the creditors being damaged in the amount of MKD 1,662,417,664.
According to the indictment, the fourth defendant, in his capacity as President of the Supervisory Board of Eurostandard Bank AD Skopje, in the period from 2013 to 2019, by negligently exercising his powers and failing to exercise due supervision, acted contrary to the obligations established by the Banking Law.
By doing so, he enabled the approval of non-performing loans, the taking of excessive credit risks, the inaccurate presentation of the bank’s financial condition, and the disregard of legal and internal lending procedures, thereby contributing to the creation of visible insolvency, the reduction of the bank’s own funds, and its bankruptcy by force of law.
