Complete silence from the institutions for the companies that abused the state funds intended to help them deal with the coronavirus crisis. It has been two months since the scandal rocked the private sector over the abuse of state aid for workers’ salaries as part of the economic measures to tackle the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The prosecution has not yet revealed the extent of the investigation. The Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office told  Alsat-M TV that the case is in pre-investigation procedure, which is currently being conducted in secret.

What the public knows is that lawsuits have been filed against more than 200 companies that received state funds to pay salaries to employees, but the owners chose to keep the money to themselves.

In the interest of the procedure, the prosecution is currently unable to share details, is the only comment of the Public Prosecutor’s Office two months after the scandal was revealed.

The Federation of Trade Unions of Macedonia, the institution that was the first to disclose such abuses by some employers, says that they will request an urgent meeting with the prosecution in order not to “cover-up” the case.

Initial information released to the public about companies abusing state money exceeded 600 companies, but within days most employers paid the money into workers’ accounts and thus escaped criminal charges.