Talir 1 trial reset for seventh time after 90-day deadline missed
Basic Criminal Court in Skopje postponed the main hearing; a new prosecutor requested time to review the evidence and one defendant failed to attend.
The Talir 1 trial has been formally reset for the seventh time after the main hearing was postponed and the 90-day legal deadline following the last session was breached.
The Basic Criminal Court in Skopje said multiple circumstances led to the postponement. A newly assigned prosecutor, who took over the case after Lenche Ristoska lost her authorisations, asked for extra time to study the voluminous evidence and expert reports, and the absence of one of the defendants made holding the hearing impossible.
What the case concerns
Talir 1 concerns alleged illegal financing of VMRO-DPMNE: the prosecution has maintained that more than €4.6 million were channelled into the party’s coffers through fictitious payment slips registered in the names of party members.
The procedural reset means the case will formally start again under the calendar of the Basic Criminal Court, obliging the court and parties to reopen scheduling and evidentiary steps. This is the seventh procedural restart since the case entered the courts.
The latest delay also renews public scrutiny over whether Talir 1 will follow the same trajectory as related investigations in recent years, as observers note that high-profile, complex financial cases often face repeated adjournments and procedural setbacks.
Photo: press material from the event
