Phone found in Shutka cell of accused ex‑inspectorate director Vase Anakiev; inspector testifies about pressure to return trucks
An inspector at the Delchevo crossing told the court she was pressured by superiors to return trucks with bulk fertilizer; a phone was found in Anakiev’s prison room.
The Basic Criminal Court in Skopje received a notice from Shutka prison that a mobile phone was found in the cell of the accused former director of the State Agricultural Inspectorate, Vase Anakiev, who is charged with soliciting a bribe to allow trucks carrying bulk fertilizer owned by a company from Delchevo to pass the border.
At the start of the hearing Anakiev denied ownership of the device: "It's not mine, it's in the room. That's how the control recorded it. I have two other cellmates and the device is not mine," he said.
Prosecutor Iskra Hadzhivasileva challenged that claim: "Everything is 'not yours', everything you have interpreted is wrong. Could it be that prison 'Skopje' is lying by any chance?" Judge Ile Trpkov intervened: "Please be quiet, I also received notice that a mobile phone was found. Let me remind you there is a way to determine whose phone it is and with whom it was communicated, i.e., whose device was found."
Inspector's testimony about pressure to return trucks
At the prosecution's request, phytosanitary inspector Daniela Krzhovska and freight forwarder Gorancho Stamenkovski testified. Krzhovska works at the State Agricultural Inspectorate as a phytosanitary inspector at the Delchevo border crossing; her superior was the accused, Vase Anakiev.
Krzhovska gave a day-by-day account of how the stopped bulk fertilizer at the company "Manov" became an internal dispute. She told the court: "On March 2 I had a day off. A colleague called me and said the director Anakiev wanted to see me at the border crossing, he wanted to meet with me and with colleague Vesna at 14:00. I didn't know why he was calling. I went and stayed there trembling until 19:00, they were five hours late. Then the director came, the manager Maja Petrusheva, Troshanski and Churlinov. There were us from our side: Velinovska, Krzhovska. The manager began to shout at the two of us that we had not worked correctly, that we had not entered the trucks into the system. I objected. Troshanski asked for the last three cases we had. The shouting was very unpleasant, the manager threatened, we were surprised why she accused us wrongly. The cases were taken to Skopje and returned without any disciplinary procedure, because we were right."
Krzhovska said she later saw a missed call from manager Maja and that her colleague Vesna told her Maja had instructed that the trucks be returned under Article 19 of the law. She described becoming very upset and seeking advice from colleagues. She added that she received an administrative email instructing action on bulk fertilizer in loose form and that she then developed tachycardia and high blood pressure, "and from March 5 to March 23, 2026 I was on sick leave." When asked by defence lawyer Elenko Milanov who signed the email, she replied: "The director Anakiev and the managers Petrusheva and Troshanski."
The court heard Krzhovska reject the manager's interpretation of procedure: "It is not possible to release trucks in the way Manager Maja claimed. Her theory was nonsensical. Once the trucks enter, we must act. And I don't know why everyone came," she said. Anakiev is accused of the criminal offence of soliciting a bribe — in this case the first half of the €100,000 he allegedly demanded from importers "Manov" in two instalments to allow their trucks through the border as imports into North Macedonia. The next witness to testify is the freight forwarder Stamenkovski.
Photo: SDK.MK)
