SDSM demands probe into State Lottery's €5.5m spending on David Guetta show

SDSM demanded that the Public Prosecutor's Office immediately open an investigation and secure all documentation related to what the party called the non-transparent spending of 340 million denars (about €5.5 million) by the State Lottery on the Independence Day celebrations that featured DJ David Guetta.

At a press briefing outside the Prosecutor's Office, SDSM spokesperson and party executive member Bogdanka Kuzeska accused the authorities of hiding documents, decisions, annexes and invoices from the public and said the decision-making process itself was questionable and potentially unlawful.

Asked at the briefing, Kuzeska listed concrete questions the party expects prosecuted authorities to answer: "In what capacity did the Government instruct the State Lottery to finance the event and where is the shareholders' assembly decision to spend more than 300 million denars?"

Procurement and payments under scrutiny

SDSM drew attention to the procurement timeline: the public call lasted only five working days and received a single offer; it closed on May 8, and three days later the Guetta performance was already announced — details that the party says point to tender conditions tailored for a particular organiser.

Kuzeska said the Prosecutor's Office should determine precisely how much Guetta's appearance cost, which companies received payments and where transfers were made to Stardust and Avalon while one of those companies reportedly had a blocked account. The party also wants to know what happened to roughly 1.75 million denars from ticket sales and whether the appropriate taxes were paid.

She described the prime minister's initial remark that the celebration cost "zero denars" as direct manipulation of the public. "Establish where every denar ended up. The people are neither 'dregs' nor 'idiots'. You cannot keep lying to them and hiding answers about their money," Kuzeska said.

SDSM also called on the State Commission for Prevention of Corruption and the State Audit Office to act immediately and conduct a full review to establish responsibility.

Last week the government's spokesperson and member of VMRO‑DPMNE's Executive Committee, Marija Miteva, stated that the overall Independence Day programme — a series of events across almost a month culminating with the French DJ and producer David Guetta at the National Arena "Todor Proeski" — cost 340 million denars.

According to Miteva, the bulk — 300 million denars — was covered from undistributed profit earmarked within the Lottery for 2024, rather than from the state budget, while the remaining 40 million denars were reported as contributions from socially responsible companies. Lottery director Aleksandar Klimovski has said the Lottery is a separate legal entity and that the undistributed profit allocated for the celebration was its money, not budget funds.

Photo: SDSM