Filipche: Mickoski ‘brutally lied’ about the government decision on Alta banka

Venko Filipche accused Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski of “brutally lying” after Mickoski, testifying at today's parliamentary oversight hearing on Alta banka, presented a government decision from October 24, 2023 that he said authorised business relations with the Serbian bank.

Documents, ownership and a disputed reading of the 2023 decision

Filipche said the document Mickoski held up during the session was misrepresented. He argued the October 24, 2023 decision adopted by the Government under then‑Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski did not instruct the state to enter into business relations with Alta banka; rather, it tasked the State Attorney's Office to communicate with Serbian institutions to protect North Macedonia's state interest, including regarding shares allegedly purchased without Macedonian consent.

Filipche outlined how Alta banka emerged in 2020 under Davor Macura — described in his remarks as the imprisoned banker who bought shares that had belonged to the former Yugoslavia and, through succession transfers, to the republics including North Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. He said Macura aimed to accumulate more than 90 percent of Alta's shares and that, while he failed to obtain Macedonian government consent in 2023 to purchase the Ministry of Finance's stake, he secured approvals elsewhere and ultimately amassed a controlling package.

According to Filipche, the share transfers and extraordinary shareholder meetings in Belgrade took place from May to July (and into August) 2023; under Serbian law, once Macura had a large majority he could compulsorily acquire remaining shares, including those linked to North Macedonia's Ministry of Finance.

Filipche repeated his charge that Mickoski was trying to shift responsibility onto the previous SDSM‑led government and called for a thorough probe by the Basic Public Prosecutor's Office into Mickoski's role and contacts connected to Alta banka's entry into the country. He accused Mickoski of manipulating the public and of aligning with media that would absolve those involved.

At the oversight hearing Mickoski said the 24 October 2023 minutes show then‑Finance Minister Fatmir Besimi asked the State Attorney's Office to enter into business relations with Alta banka Serbia. Mickoski also noted that the discussion on Alta banka and the potential entrance into Stopanska Banka Bitola took place while Dimitar Kovacevski was prime minister and that half of the then‑government attended the session.

The official minutes of the 194th government session on 24 October 2023 (item numbered 57) record consideration of an "Information regarding the need for the State Attorney's Office of the Republic of North Macedonia, as the legal representative of the Ministry of Finance, to represent the same before the bodies in the Republic of Serbia in connection with the alienation of shares in Alta banka AD Belgrade." The decision, signed by Kovacevski and then‑Secretary General Metodija Dimovski, instructs the State Attorney's Office to initiate appropriate proceedings before Serbian authorities.

Photo: Printskrin