English
Strumica police filed a new set of criminal charges with the Public Prosecutor’s Office (PPO) in against former Mayor Kostadin Kostadinov and several top former municipal officials. The charges are based on reasonable suspicion that Kostadinov committed the criminal offense of “abuse of official position and authority,” punishable under Article 353 of the Criminal Code.
In 2022, Kostadinov abused his official positions by enabling a legal entity to legalize an illegally constructed building located on a plot of land in the village of Kuklish near Strumica. Specifically, the legalization was carried out after changes were made in the cadastre plan to delete structures that were owned by the municipality of Strumica, with the aim of obtaining a “clean” property deed for the cadastral plot. Through these actions, the reported individuals enabled T.J. from the village of Kuklish to obtain an unlawful financial benefit. Furthermore, this procedure enabled T.J. to purchase the land beneath the building that was owned by the Republic of Macedonia—and to have it registered in his name with full ownership rights.
Kostadinov was a leading lieutenant of Zoran Zaev and spokesman of the SDSM party while Zaev was Prime Minister.