The State Anti-Corruption Commission (DKSK) will not recommend criminal charges against Finance Minister Nina Angelovska, who withdrew a large, 250,000 EUR worth deposit from the Eurostandard Bank before it collapsed.

DKSK chief Biljana Ivanovska acknowledged that the Finance Minister had insider knowledge in the events in the bank and could’ve acted on it, but said that there are no articles in the criminal code under which she could be prosecuted.

Due to her position, the Finance Minister has information about developments in the financial markets and the banking sector. She could receive information about the bank she had a deposit in which were not publicly available to other depositors. This could’ve influenced her decision making. We are not proposing an action against the Minister but we want to point out that the ethical question here is very relevant, Ivanovska said.

Thousands of depositors were left stranded in the collapse of the bank and tens of thousands of its customers are facing serious difficulties in their day to day financial operations.