Gjoko Ristov at centre of trial after phone data and €350,000 found

Investigators who extracted data from a mobile device used in 2023 and later reactivated in 2025 say they found on the phone of appellate judge Gjoko Ristov phone numbers and, in some cases, communications with a long list of accused and detained people: Ismet Guri, a person listed as Cando (a friend of the accused Ljupcho Pecov-Gjavolot), gynaecologist Marjan Stojoski, Antonio Vizija, Antonio Georgiev Vizija T, a Signal-network contact identified as Boki (Bojan Jovanovski), and fellow appellate judge Enver Bedzeti “nov”, who allegedly kept cases in drawers for months or years.

The extracted contact list also included Ana Kamcheva (whose then-husband Orce Kamchev was detained, prosecuted and later convicted), “Asmir na Pucko”, Zoran Azmanov, "Babe Ismail" (Ismail Jahoski), Cando (Aleksandar Veljanovski, friend of Ljupcho Pecov-Gjavolot, listed with two numbers), then “Fatmir na Feni”, and "FS" (the now-convicted Fehmi Stafa, who testified that a bribe of 50,000 euros was for Gjoko Ristov). Other entries named Ljupcho Pecov-Gjavolot (a defendant in cases Ristov handled), Frosina Remnjski, Guri UJP, Pucko and Vice Zaev.

Hidden cash, phone messages and financial expert testimony

During today's continuation of the trial against Ristov — who was accused after 350,000 euros were found hidden in his family house in Negotino, in a cavity behind kitchen tiles above his parents' floor — the prosecution read parts of the extracted communications into the record. In one message Ristov asked colleague Enver Bedzeti: "Friend, how are you standing now with what you have from KSZ? A colleague is asking me — was he her brother?"

Other messages mention “a case with colleague Bukurie” and press for timing: "the important thing is that it is by then and then, because we have a case for Maja that she returned." The prosecutor also read a query from an unknown person to Ristov: "The second case also went through. What's this, wasn't it arranged?"

Prosecutor Iskra Hadzhivasileva called forensic accountant Zvonko Kochovski to the stand. Kochovski testified that he examined annual tax returns for Ristov and his wife Simona Ristova from 2016 through 2024 — the latest year for which documentation was available — and compared net income, bank inflows, and property records from the cadastre. He told the court their declared income did not justify the 350,000 euros seized.

According to Kochovski, Ristov's reported total income in 2016 was 723,000 denars (about 60,000 denars per month), roughly 75,000 denars per month in 2019, and between 115,000 and 120,000 denars per month in 2024. Simona Ristova's monthly earnings were about 17,000 denars in 2016, rose to 60,000, and were around 90,000 denars in 2024. Kochovski said other significant receipts were not recorded; only a minor inflow of about 86,000 denars from the Academy for Judges and Prosecutors was noted.

In cross-examination, defence attorney Zvonko Davidovic asked Kochovski to read balances from each of five banks and suggested that, when added, the deposits amounted to 25 million denars for Ristov and 11 million for Simona — "Would you agree with me that if we add all the sums, this is 25 million denars? For Simona it's 11 million. Is the total 37 million denars or approximately 600,000 euros?" The expert answered affirmatively. He also confirmed that Donka Ristova, the judge's mother, held assets totalling 975,000 euros.

Kochovski said he analysed documents provided by the prosecution and limited his review to records up to 2024 because no later documentation was available. When pressed by defence counsel, he acknowledged he could not determine the source of all family funds. The defence argued that only 570,000 euros remain unexplained and said their own expert will present the origin of those funds at future hearings.

Photo: СДК.МК)