The Financial Police Department filed criminal charges with the Tetovo Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office (PPO) against an official employed at the International University of Tetovo, who performed work tasks as an administrative officer – senior associate for logistics and field work, due to the existence of grounds for suspicion that he committed the criminal offenses Abuse of official position and authority under Article 353 and Forgery of a document under Article 378 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of North Macedonia.
“Suspect A.Z., as an employee of the International University of Tetovo, in the period from March 2020 to February 2023, abused his official position and authorities with the intention of obtaining unlawful material benefit for himself in such a way that, using his official position, instead of the funds that were entrusted to him in cash by the students of the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics (first and second cycle), the Faculty of Physical Culture and the Faculty of Medicine to pay them to the University’s account via the E-pay web application (www.epay.unite.edu.mk), on the basis of participation, co-financing and other study costs, he appropriated them for himself, thereby illegally acquiring material benefit in the total amount of MKD 3,362,272, and for the same amount causing damage to the Budget of the University of Tetovo,” the Financial Police informed Monday.
“In order to conceal the misappropriation of funds and traces of the crime committed, the accused created forged receipts for allegedly made payments via the E-pay application, which he handed over to the students as proof of payment. For their creation, he used data, including a QR code, from an authentic receipt for a payment made via E-pay with his sister’s bank card, after which he altered the data on the payer, the amount and the date of payment and thus delivered the forged receipts to the students. The students, believing that the payment had been made, uploaded the receipts as an attachment to the electronic system and simultaneously submitted them to the student service as proof of payment made,” reads the police report.
