LDP asks prosecutors to open urgent case on State Lottery spending and compare it to the Grubi case

The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) urged the Public Prosecutor's Office to open an urgent investigation into the spending of funds linked to the 2026 Independence celebration, saying prosecutors must prove they are immune to political pressure and treat the case like earlier prosecutions.

Chilimanov points to an alleged pattern and asks for the same approach used in the Grubi case

“The LDP calls on the Public Prosecutor's Office to show that it has capable staff who do not yield to political pressure and immediately open proceedings related to the spending of funds from the State Lottery,” said Ilija Chilimanov, a jurist and member of the LDP executive board.

Chilimanov asked whether the conduct around the lottery-funded payments for the celebration follows the same modus operandi used in the case against Artan Grubi. He noted that Grubi and the previous cabinet allegedly circumvented provisions of the Law on Trade Companies and, through government conclusions, ordered the State Lottery to assume financial obligations of €8.3 million.

He added that, according to LDP, the way money was withdrawn for the 2026 Independence events involved the current prime minister, the government's secretary-general and the State Lottery director enacting identical measures: adopting government conclusions that redirected funds from undistributed profit outside the state budget.

“So, if the Public Prosecutor's Office is prosecuting Grubi under that article, it has a legal basis to initiate proceedings against the current officials. If the redistribution of funds was done without a decision from the Assembly of Shareholders, using the same criminal model, the State Lottery is again being used as a private party cashbox and an off-budget fund to circumvent the provisions of the Budget Law and regular procedures, allowing million-euro sums to end up with prearranged private entities,” Chilimanov said.

The LDP recalled its earlier objections to amendments to the Criminal Code adopted in September 2023 and emphasized that the offense of abuse of official position and authority is punishable under the Criminal Code.

Chilimanov noted that the State Commission for Prevention of Corruption has already opened a case following a citizen tip. “The State Commission for Prevention of Corruption listened to the LDP and has already opened a case upon a citizen tip. Now, together with citizens, we are asking the Basic Public Prosecutor's Office for Prosecution of Organized Crime and Corruption, also upon a citizen tip, to promptly—like the SCPC—initiate proceedings that will secure appropriate evidence, among others the government conclusions and the signed contracts. In that way, it will finally be shown that the Public Prosecutor's Office serves justice, and is not merely an institutional shield for the new elite. The citizens of Macedonia deserve justice just like the elite, perhaps even more,” he concluded.

Photo: press material from the event