Special Prosecutor Katica Janeva confirmed that the wiretaps being published by an ethnic Albanian whistleblower from Chicago are part of the cache of tapes given to her by Zoran Zaev and his SDSM party in 2015.

We have some of the “bombs” that are published. At the moment we can’t confirm whether they didn’t come from us, that is being investigated, Janeva said today.

The whistleblower, who calls himself El Cheka, is publishing conversations that include DUI party leader Ali Ahmeti and other Albanian politicians in Macedonia. So far the tapes have revealed possible crimes on the part of Ahmeti related to the 2011 failed census and influence peddling involving pro-SDSM party journalists. El Cheka claims that he has tapes related to several murders and terrorists attacks tied to Ahmeti’s paramilitary organization NLA/UCK, which fought an insurgency against Macedonian forces in 2001, killing hundreds.

The cache of tapes originates from rogue officers of the UBK intelligence service, who gave them to Zaev in 2014, leading to the wiretapping affair that caused a major political and security crisis in Macedonia and the downfall of the VMRO-DPMNE led Government. VMRO warned at the time that the tapes are being bought and sold at the black market and are being used to blackmail politicians, businessmen and journalists.

El Cheka claims that he got his tapes from the group of Albanian terrorists who perpetrated the attack on Kumanovo in 2015, whose stated goal, among others was to take Ali Ahmeti’s position in Macedonian politics. Some 30 surviving members of the group and held in prisons in Macedonia, and Cheka claims that the group faces being killed in prison by Ahmeti’s people. Media outlets reported today that the group is under enhanced security after Cheka’s claims.