Two MVR employees caught preparing falsified driving licence for €1,400
Two MVR employees were reportedly caught preparing an upgraded fake driving licence for €1,400; an internal control probe is now under way in coordination with prosecutors.
Two Ministry of Interior (MVR) employees — a supervisor and a subordinate — were caught in the act while preparing a falsified driving licence for a client in exchange for €1,400, sparking a wide internal probe inside the ministry, officials say.
Scope and method of the alleged scheme
According to initial findings, the man was instructed to report his licence as lost. While issuing a replacement, the employees allegedly planned to add higher vehicle categories to the new licence than the man had held before — effectively allowing him to drive a heavy truck (tractor-trailer) and a bus in addition to a car.
If the suspicions are confirmed, investigators warn the case could become a serious public-safety scandal: bus drivers carry children on school trips, transport passengers and tourists, and the integrity of those licences is critical for road safety. There are legal safeguards for bus drivers — a valid medical certificate, and at least two years’ possession of a truck licence among them — intended to reduce risk on the roads.
“In connection with the case you asked about, we inform you that the Department for Internal Control, Criminal Investigations and Professional Standards at the Ministry of Interior has notified the competent Basic Public Prosecutor's Office and, in coordination with the prosecutor's office, appropriate activities are being undertaken to clarify the case, after which the public will be appropriately informed,” the Ministry of Interior said.
Senior ministry sources told investigators that some of the people now under scrutiny were previously suspected of involvement in a separate passport fraud scandal from 2021, when Macedonian passports with stolen or false identities were issued to 215 international crime figures. Separately, media reports yesterday said that roughly 300 driving licences may have been forged or upgraded in this way.
The episode also recalls a 2021 criminal case in which 18 employees of administrative units at the ministry were convicted for issuing licences to people who had never taken a driving test. The internal control unit and the prosecutor's office have launched coordinated actions to clarify the current allegation; further details will be released after the investigation progresses.
Photo: Sloboden pechat - Dragan Mitreski
