Financial police file complaint over alleged fictitious bankruptcy tied to Atanas Kostov

Financial police have filed a criminal complaint against Atanas Kostov — the son‑in‑law of former prime minister Zoran Zaev — and another company manager over an alleged scheme to stage a company bankruptcy and avoid paying almost €5 million owed to an Austrian firm, other businesses and the Public Revenue Office (UJP).

Investigators say two companies where Kostov was a manager signed a lease agreement that was never executed nor recorded in the accounts. After the agreement was terminated, penalty claims amounting to about €4 million were registered as liabilities on a company that Kostov owned.

Creditors objected and the Basic Civil Court in Skopje issued a temporary injunction halting enforcement. When attempts to transfer real estate failed, the first suspect, with help from a third person identified only as J.T., allegedly took further steps to provoke the company’s bankruptcy.

Loan transfer and bankruptcy proposal

According to the complaint, 4,000,000 denars were transferred as a loan — funds that had earlier been received from a legal entity founded by the first suspect’s wife — and shortly afterwards a proposal was filed to open bankruptcy proceedings against the company.

Background documents show that the Austrian company AMMA won an international arbitration in Vienna four years ago against the domestic firm DENA PRODUCT, owned by Kostov, for €4 million after finding that DENA PRODUCT breached a pickles production contract. Kostov is accused of selling pickles to Global Trade DMM — i.e., to his wife Emilija Kostova‑Zaeva — despite being prohibited from doing so.

The public prosecutor’s office in Veles has already brought charges against Kostov in a similar case alleging attempts to avoid payment to the Austrians; that investigation, which began in March 2024, is still ongoing and in that case a notary and an enforcement officer are also accused.

Photo: press material from the event