Zoran Vanev accuses Makfest leaders; organisers respond with €100,000 defamation claim
The singer—now based in Switzerland and active with the diaspora—alleges misuse of public funds at Makfest; organisers responded with a 6.200.000-denar (≈€100,000) defamation suit.
Zoran Vanev, the singer who rose to fame in the 1990s and later moved to Switzerland, is again at the center of public attention — this time over accusations aimed at the organisation of the long-standing festival Makfest and a subsequent lawsuit demanding 6.200.000 denars (around €100,000).
Vanev, born in Shtip in 1973, first became widely known after recording his biggest hit "Angela" in 1993 at the age of 20. Although he now lives in Switzerland and works as a doctor of natural medicine, he remains visible on the scene through occasional performances for the Macedonian diaspora and visits to his hometown of Shtip. He is married to Lidia and they have two sons.
The accusations and the counterattack
This week an open letter from Vanev escalated into a public dispute: he accused Makfest’s artistic director Robert Sazdov and producer Jovan Jovanov of turning the festival into "a private firm" and claimed that public money from the Municipality of Shtip was ending up in the pockets of the same musical circle. Vanev publicly called for the State Audit Office, the Financial Police and the Prosecutor's Office to investigate the festival's operations.
Sazdov and Jovanov, through their lawyer Janaki Mitrovski, rejected the allegations as false and said Vanev acted out of revenge after his song was rejected from this year’s contest. They have opened defamation proceedings seeking compensation of 6.200.000 denars (around €100,000).
Vanev did not retreat. On social media he answered sharply: "I could hardly wait for you to open Pandora's box, because it is precisely there that you will bury yourselves. Social networks are not a courtroom — my post functioned as a whistleblower, and the indelible and material evidence I possess I will mercilessly present before the Court!"
The dispute now appears destined for a lengthy legal battle that could produce documents and testimony scrutinising Makfest’s finances. For many, the case is one of the most consequential controversies to hit the domestic music scene in recent decades; Vanev has said he will rely on material evidence at trial, while the organisers insist their reputation must be defended in court.
Photo: press material from the event
