Chief public prosecutor Ljubomir Joveski and organized crime prosecutor Vilma Ruskoska held a press conference to detail their case against Bojan Jovanovski – Boki 13, and businessman Zoran Mileski – Zoki Kicheec, who were arrested today on allegations of racketeering. Accourding to the allegations, Boki 13 helped a high profile suspect in a criminal investigation to receive lenient treatment, and received 1.5 million EUR in exchange.
Joveski and Ruskoska, who are widely seen as close to the ruling SDSM party, said that the charges against Boki 13 and Kicheec are about “illegally receiving awards”.
The extensive investigation was started last May, and a number of witnesses were interrogated. Between November 2018 and April this year, the main suspect influenced a state prosecutor to demand leniency against a suspect which was charged in a different case. The suspects then received 1.5 million EUR in bribes from the person they were helping. They agreed with this person that they will be paid additional five million EUR as a reward, but after suspecting that the meetings have been compromised, they ended their meetings, Ruskoska said.
She did not disclose the person who Boki 13 was allegedly taking money from to help reduce the charges against him, or the prosecutor who was allegedly pushed to reduce the charges. Boki 13’s arrest was quickly followed by the resignation of Special Prosecutor Katica Janeva. Boki’s 1TV station was seen as loudly supportive of Janeva and Janeva’s son Lazar Janev works for 1TV. Joveski refused to comment on Janeva’s resignation, as even as the journalist who pushed the story about Boki 13’s alleged racketeering claimed that the two events are linked.
That is a personal move and I will not comment, Joveski said asked about the other big news of the day – Janeva’s resignation. “We call on all others who have been exposed to such pressure to step forward”, Ruskoska added.
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