Geriatric clinic scandal: the director initially sought 100,000 EUR bribe to admit a patient

More details emerged after the arrest of Muhsin Arifi, head of the geriatric clinic in Skopje, who was seeking a bribe from the family of an elderly patient.

According to the charges filed by the organized crime prosecutors, Arifi initially sought a huge bribe of 100,000 EUR to admit the patient who was in worsening condition but could not secure a spot in the clinic. Arifi knew that the patient is well off, and blackmailed the caretaker of the patient, and suggested that she sells an apartment owned by the patient.

During a meeting, she eventually paid 20,000 EUR to an associate of Arifi. The woman was in contact with the police by then, having reported the requests for bribe, and this led to the arrest, with the money in hand.