While the witnesses in the Racket trial are careful not to involve officials from the ruling SDSM party in the major racketeering scandal, the case has none the less implicated a list of other people who have not been charged yet.

These include Katica Janeva’s son Lazar Janev, who was allegedly involved in the extortion. Janeva’s assistant prosecutor Lile Stefanova was named as allegedly demanding a separate bribe from businessman Jordan Orce Kamcev and was called to testify, but has also not been charged. But, a person whose name has been evoked most frequently by Kamcev and his wife is judge Vesna Dimiskova. She was given the “Empire” money laundering case against Kamcev, and has allegedly used her brother, Vasil Dimiskov, to demand millions in bribes from Kamcev.

My sister needs to retire on this money, Ana Kamceva testified as being told by Vasil Dimiskov, as he was demanding anything between 2 and 8 million EUR to help put an end to the money laundering case against him.

Kamceva testified how she was invited to meet Vasil Dimiskov in an apartment in Skopje’s Kapistec district where she was given the “offer”. He told the businessman’s wife that the money will have to be divided between the judge and prosecutor Lile Stefanova, as well as other people involved in the case against him. After paying 1.5 million EUR, Kamcev was released from detention into house arrest by the judge, after Special Prosecutor Katica Janeva facilitated the move, and even had his passport handed back to him.

Reports about judge Dimiskova’s involvement in the extortion were known in the public for a while, but she has not been questioned yet by prosecutor Vilma Ruskoska, who is leading the case against Katica Janeva. This has raised suspicions that the purpose of the trial is not to get to the bottom of the racketeering allegations, but to cover up the scandal.