Organized crime prosecutor Vilma Ruskoska used her influence to get a nephew hired as a prosecutro in Kumanovo, the Infomax news site repored today.

For this, Ruskoska was investigated by the Anti-Corruption Commission, which strangely concluded that a nephew is not a close relative and allowed the hiring to stand. The country’s most powerful prosecutor submitted a statement to the Anti-Corruption Commission claiming that her appointment as head of the organized crime unit means she is no longer technically part of the broader OJO service where her nephew was hired, and this was enough for the Commission.

The Commission’s own guidelines state that a nephew is a considered a close relative and constitutes interference with the merit system. In the past, the Commission would initiate procedures against prosecutors for not recusing themselves in the decision making process when their nephews are hired in the service. Prosecutor Kole Steriev was fined 500 EUR and faced a misdemeanor charge in an identical case.