Criminal complaint filed against former Strumica mayor over Kuklish illegal building and state land disposal

The police have filed a criminal complaint against former Strumica mayor Kostadin Kostadinov and two other people over a case involving legalization of an illegally built structure in the village of Kuklish.

According to the police, a falsified technical report was used to remove municipal buildings from the cadastre, which then enabled the legalization of a warehouse and ultimately allowed the purchase of state land covering 866 square meters.

Details of the allegation

The complaint states that in 2022 two municipal officials helped a resident of Kuklish to legalize an unlawfully erected building located on a parcel that belonged to the state. For that purpose, the head of the municipal sector asked the manager of a company to prepare a report to delete buildings from the parcel, in which it was stated that no structures existed on the site, despite the presence of buildings owned by the Municipality of Strumica.

Police say the documentation was then used to erase the municipal properties from the records, and the former mayor issued a decision legalizing a building registered as a warehouse with an area of 161 square meters. As a result, the individual was able to purchase the land under the building and obtain ownership over 866.46 square meters of state land.

The complaint also notes that previous court rulings that had rejected the legalization request were not taken into account. Kostadin Kostadinov and the former sector head are reported for abuse of official position and authority, while the former company manager is charged with falsifying documents.

Photo: press material from the event