Court lifts detention on Prparim Bajrami after property guarantee
Court accepted a property guarantee and ordered seizure of travel document, ban on new travel papers and regular reporting to the court.
The Basic Criminal Court of Skopje lifted pretrial detention for Prparim Bajrami, the first accused in the case known as “Lottery”, after accepting a property-based guarantee worth 1,140,781 euros.
Bajrami faces the charge of "abuse of official position and authority", a criminal offence for which the statutory maximum sentence is up to five years in prison.
Court cites legal limit on detention and sets precautionary measures
Judges said that under the Criminal Procedure Code the measure of detention in this case may not run for more than 60 days. Bajrami voluntarily presented himself to begin serving the detention at Skopje Prison on September 9, 2026, so the statutory detention period expires on November 8, 2026.
Taking the circumstances into account, the Court accepted the offered guarantee secured in real estate and imposed additional precautionary measures to ensure Bajrami's presence during the proceedings: seizure of his travel document and a ban on issuing a new document for crossing the state border, together with an obligation to report regularly to the Court.
The decision became final on November 3, 2026, after the competent prosecutor and the other parties in the procedure waived their right to appeal. Once the mortgage is entered in the Cadastre of Real Estate, the defendant will be released from Skopje Prison.
Photo: press material from the event
