Swift appellate decision in “Talir 2” leaves VMRO‑DPMNE with headquarters and other assets

The Appellate Court confirmed the acquittal in the “Talir 2” case in an expedited ruling that came roughly three weeks after it received the prosecution’s appeal on the 26th of this month, a move that leaves VMRO‑DPMNE in possession of its party headquarters — estimated at €14 million — and other assets worth about €2 million.

Fast timetable, big stakes for party property

The original acquittal was issued by Judge Daniela Aleksovska Stojanovska and published on July 14. The public prosecutor filed an appeal on August 5; the next day the Basic Criminal Court forwarded the file to the Appellate Court, where judge rapporteur Lirie Elezi Ajrulau handled the case. The appellate chamber issued its final decision within three weeks of receiving the appeal on the 26th of this month.

Legal analyst Avramovski characterized the pace of the proceedings as unusually rapid. "This is an unusually rapid procedure both by the Basic Criminal Court in preparing and delivering the verdict in the 'Talir 2' case, k no also from the aspect of the Appellate Court in processing the appeals and in deciding on the case and publishing the final decision, that is, in this case the enforceable ruling," Avramovski said.

According to Avramovski, for the accused the practical difference between a case becoming time-barred and an affirmed acquittal is limited — aside from the personal satisfaction of having the acquittal confirmed. The decisive consequence relates to the party’s property: if a case had expired due to the statute of limitations, authorities could still open a separate civil or administrative procedure focused solely on tracing and confiscating unlawfully obtained assets. By contrast, when an acquittal becomes final, it is practically impossible to continue investigating and seize the same property on the basis of the criminal file.

Former lead prosecutor Lenche Ristoska, who resigned months ago after her powers were curtailed, spoke after the verdict and expressed doubts and contradictions about the handling of the case. She said the ruling confirmed her conviction that the file was taken from her office to avoid confiscation of VMRO‑DPMNE’s headquarters. When Talir 2 first reached the Appellate Court in an earlier phase, the chamber had taken more than a year and a half to decide to return the case for retrial.

The outcome leaves the party’s central property intact for now and raises questions about the interaction between criminal procedure timing and asset recovery mechanisms. Observers say the sequence of rapid appellate action and a final acquittal closes off criminal avenues for confiscation and shifts any fight over the assets into other forums, where legal and political battles may continue.

Photo: press material from the event