VMRO-DPMNE: Venko Filipche and SDSM sabotaging Alta Bank, silent on Eurostandard

VMRO-DPMNE accused Venko Filipche and the ruling Social Democratic Union (SDSM) of deliberately undermining Alta Bank and remaining silent about the collapse of Eurostandard Bank, while raising questions about alleged transfers linked to Venezuela in 2019.

Party says depositors' money is safe, blames 'sabotage'

In a statement issued after Filipche's appearance on TV Sitel, VMRO-DPMNE said the money of citizens, savers and creditors is safe and that the bank's operations should be normalized soon.

The party argued Filipche's public criticism aims to damage the restructuring process and reduce the bank's value. "The money of the citizens, the savers and the creditors are safe and very soon normal functioning will return. That is exactly what bothers Filipche and SDSM and that is why they do everything, with lies and manipulations, to create hysteria in order to harm the process and to reduce the value of the bank. This is classic sabotage aimed at harming the state, the legal entity and the citizens, which is a criminal act under the law," the statement reads.

VMRO-DPMNE also invoked the bankruptcy of Eurostandard Bank and accused companies linked to the brother of former prime minister Zoran Zaev and his business partners of receiving million-euro loans without collateral that were not repaid. The party named "Sara Engineering", "Global Media Group" and "Triterol" as examples and said ordinary depositors were left without their savings while connected firms profited.

"SDSM and Filipche are used to banks going bankrupt, the system stabilizing, citizens losing their money, while owners of companies close to the Zaev family pocket millions. As was the case with Eurostandard Bank, from which companies owned by Zaev's brother and his business partners such as 'Sara Engineering', 'Global Media Group', 'Triterol', besides taking million-euro loans without coverage, they did not return the money. But with the bank's bankruptcy, savers and citizens were left without their hard-earned money," VMRO-DPMNE said.

The party also raised questions about reported transfers of hundreds of millions of euros from Venezuela in 2019, asking whether then–prime minister Zoran Zaev and then–minister Venko Filipche knew about or were involved in those transactions. "Did they, together with Zaev as prime minister and Venko as minister in 2019, know about and stand behind these transfers with which suspicious, that is criminal, money was 'laundered' in Macedonia? That is what SDSM and Filipche should focus on and answer to the Macedonian public, instead of doing everything to sabotage the process that aims to protect the interests of all parties involved, and primarily of the Macedonian citizens," the party added.

Filipche, for his part, told TV Sitel that Alta Bank's entry into the North Macedonian market was the result of a political agreement between Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić. He said the authorities were aware of the individuals connected to the bank and that institutions cannot plead ignorance.

Filipche also questioned the prime minister's role in the takeover of Stopanska Banka Bitola, recalling Governor Trajko Slaveski's remark that Hristijan Mickoski had been consulted. He announced an oversight hearing in the Assembly intended to establish responsibility and trace the origin of funds, financial transactions and the conduct of relevant institutions.

He said roughly 30 people should be invited, including Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski, the President of North Macedonia, the finance minister, the governor and vice-governors of the central bank, Alta Bank's management team, and representatives of institutions that hold information on financial flows. Filipche said the hearing should last as long as needed and that it must address consequences for citizens, pointing to pensioners waiting in line at the bank's Bitola branch.

Photo: press material from the event