Grubi to call ministers who attended 6 June 2023 session as witnesses

Artan Grubi told reporters that he has proposed as witnesses all ministers who were present at the Government session on 6.06.2023 which he chaired and during which the decision was taken to procure the disputed videolottery (VL) terminals for the State Lottery, valued at 9.7 million euros.

Grubi stressed that then–prime minister Dimitar Kovacevski and the ministers Slavjanka Petrovska, Oliver Spasovski and Ljupcho Nikolovski were not present at that meeting and had been replaced by their deputies.

List of proposed witnesses

In his submission, Grubi proposed as witnesses the then vice‑prime ministers and ministers who attended the session: Vice‑Prime Minister for European Affairs Bojan Maricic (SDSM); Vice‑Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Fatmir Bytyqi (SDSM); Vice‑Prime Minister for Good Governance Slavica Grkovska (SDSM); Minister of Foreign Affairs Bujar Osmani (DUI); Minister of Finance Fatmir Besimi (DUI); Minister of Justice Krenar Loga (Alliance for the Albanians); Minister of Health Fatmir Bekim Sali; Minister of Information Society and Administration Azir Aliu (Alliance for the Albanians); Minister of Environment and Spatial Planning Kaja Shukova (SDSM); Minister of Labour and Social Policy Jovana Trencevska (SDSM); Minister of Transport and Communications Blagoj Bochvarski (SDSM); Minister of Culture Bisera Kostadinovska‑Stojchevska (SDSM); Minister of Education and Science Jeton Shaqiri (DUI); Minister of Economy Kreshnik Bekteshi (DUI); Minister of Local Self‑Government Risto Penov (LDP), as well as the deputy ministers for Interior, Defence, and Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management.

Today’s hearing in the State Lottery case was postponed again — after three earlier delays caused by trainings for the two prosecutors — because the witness N. Hodzha was legitimately absent and could not come to testify.

Although the case is based on a criminal indictment and was expected to move quickly, the proceedings have not advanced so far.

The indictment charges all defendants with Abuse of office and official authority under Article 353 paragraph 5, in connection with paragraphs 4 and 1, and Article 22 of the Criminal Code, alleging offences committed in 2023 and 2024. The prescribed sentence for these offences is from one to five years imprisonment.

The prosecution alleges that the defendants unlawfully enabled the purchase of machines and videolottery terminals and the independent organisation of electronic games of chance worth 9.7 million euros, even though the legal right had already been assigned to the company Casinos Austria. According to the indictment, when the State Lottery was established in 2013 that right was contributed as a non‑monetary investment with a value of 6,244,898 euros, giving Casinos Austria a 51% stake in the company.

According to the charges, on 09.05.2023 the first accused Bajrami, general director and chairman of the Board of the State Lottery, sent an information note to the third accused, Metodija Dimovski, general secretary of the Government, proposing activities for the Lottery to start independently organising electronic games of chance. Dimovski on 06.06.2023 submitted that note as an addition to a government agenda item, acting contrary to Article 119, paragraph 2 of the Rules of Procedure of the Government by not returning the information to the submitter or forwarding it to the competent body.

The indictment further states that Grubi, who exercised real influence in the management of the State Lottery, chaired the Government session and proposed that the supplemented agenda item be adopted although he was aware that the decision was not within the competence of the Government as the assembly of the joint‑stock company. The Board members then approved launching the public procurement for the videolottery terminals and obligations were undertaken that, the prosecution says, caused damage in the stated amount.

Defence teams and the accused maintain there was no damage from the public procurement and point out that the prosecution does not seek compensation in this case. They argue the figure of 9.7 million euros is not embezzlement or theft: it is the value of machines that remain the property of the State Lottery and, in their view, continue to appreciate. They add that the Lottery only had a ban on organising games of chance online, not with the purchased terminals.

Photo: SDK.MK)