Anti‑Corruption Commission opens probe into State Lottery and €4.8m independence celebration spending
The commission will examine how the Lottery spent €4.8 million on the 35‑year independence events and whether selection procedures involved conflicts of interest.
The State Commission for Prevention of Corruption has, on its own initiative, opened a case to examine how the State Lottery financed the events marking 35 years of independence. The probe will focus on the Lottery’s decision to allocate €4.8 million to the celebrations and on the procedure used to select the organiser.
Possible conflict of interest and timing questions
The programme for the events — a document of roughly one hundred pages submitted by the organiser, the firm "Stardast" — was evaluated by a three‑member commission chaired by Nikolche Micevski, with members Zoran Stefanovski and Veselin Teoharov. "Stardast" was the company awarded the contract to organise the events, including the central show with internationally known DJ David Guetta.
Questions have been raised about whether Micevski’s role as chair of the evaluation commission created a conflict of interest. Micevski later appears in the event programme as the author of orchestrations for José Carreras’ concert, and he is also credited as arranger on the album "Izvor" by Karolina Goceva, which is linked to Avalon production.
Other unresolved issues include the timing of the booking for David Guetta: "When was David Guetta booked, if the offer reached the Lottery on Friday and his performance was announced three days later?!" Critics have pointed out that the three‑day interval included a Saturday and Sunday, calling the speed of the arrangements into question.
There are also procedural questions about the source of the funds. It remains unclear whether the State Lottery’s shareholders’ meeting formally decided to allocate €4.8 million from undistributed 2024 profit in line with the Law on Trade Companies, or whether the funds were released following a government instruction. Reports indicate the Lottery directed more than half of its 2024 profit to the celebrations.
The Commission said it will verify the allegations and the factual record, and will reach a decision at a public session. Under the Commission’s usual practice, the Public Prosecutor’s Office typically does not initiate parallel action until the Commission completes its procedure.
Photo: press material from the event
