Opposition demands accountability over ALTA Bank developments

Political tensions rose after recent developments at ALTA Bank, as opposition parties pressed for answers about regulator oversight and the exposure of public funds. The governor of the National Bank attempted to calm the public by stating that the bank is "liquid and highly capitalized," but opposition forces say that is not enough.

Opposition demands details and accountability

DUI publicly asked a series of pointed questions about how ALTA Bank was selected as a custodian of public money and whether independent assessments were used. "On the basis of which criteria and independent assessments was ALTA Bank chosen? Was there direct political influence on the leaders of the institutions? Were the risks related to the bank's ownership structure analyzed at all, and why were any potential warnings ignored?" the party said.

Meanwhile LDP and Levica accused regulators of complete negligence and demanded the immediate lifting of restrictive measures, along with a full determination of institutional responsibility for the turmoil. The issue remained the focus of televised analysis on TV 24, where participants debated the scale of the problem and possible remedies.

The Parliamentary Committee on Finance and Budget decided to open an official supervisory hearing titled: "Reasons for introducing administration in ALTA Bank AD Bitola, the role and actions of the National Bank and institutional responsibility." The committee will review the sequence of events, the regulator's decisions and the responsibilities of state institutions.

Members of parliament also clashed over the committee's remit after an initial opposition proposal contained wording referring to "the deception of citizens"; the phrase was removed following insistence by the ruling majority, which argued that Parliament must not assume a judicial role or pre-emptively adopt accusatory conclusions.

Photo: press material from the event