Trial resumes for appellate judge Gjoko Ristov
Prosecutors say €350,000 was found hidden in his parents' home and his DNA was on the notes; defence will present its expert on the family's finances.
The trial of appellate judge Gjoko Ristov resumed today, as prosecutors press charges that he concealed assets and laundered money after €350,000 was discovered hidden inside a wall at his parents' home and his DNA was detected on the banknotes.
Expert findings and disputed financial flows
At the previous hearing a financial expert testified that Ristov made cash payments of around €40,000 on two separate occasions linked to the purchase of an apartment.
The prosecution says the origin of those funds is unknown. Court documents presented at the hearing note that Ristov and his wife earned about €617,000 from salaries in the period from 2016 to 2024.
Ristov's defence told the court that its own expert will explain the origin of the money and the family's financial inflows, and intends to challenge the prosecution's accounting of those transfers.
During the session investigators also displayed contact lists from Ristov's phone that included communications with several people who have been suspected or charged in other cases.
Prosecutors argued that those communications are problematic and relevant to the case, while the defence said the mere existence of contacts does not prove illegal conduct. The trial continues with further evidence expected to be examined at upcoming hearings.
Photo: press material from the event
