SDSM party official Frosina Remenski, who is deputy Parliament Speaker, avoided the press today as it was announced that she is being charged with money laundering for her role in the major racketeering scandal. In Parliament she met with the head of the SDSM group of MPs Jovan Mitroski and member of Parliament Dime Velkovski, but none would talk to the press as they left her office.

Later she left the session held to discuss the proposed budget amendments before it was over and withdrew to her office. Journalists who were trying to reach her over the phone during the day didn’t have much luck. Her husband Jovce Remenski, who is the head of the anti-terrorism unit in the Interior Ministry, also didn’t address the developing scandal.

Remenski and the former SDSM Secretary General Aleksandar Kiracovski were the highest party officials to be interrogated by organized crime prosecutors. The charge against Remenski blames her for “attending meetings organized by the primary defendant (Bojan Jovanovski – Boki 13) during which she used her authority and clout to give an impression to the victims of the fraud that the projects being presented have the backing of the Government”.

Boki 13 is suspected of offering potentially very lucrative real-estate deals to businessmen. These were presented as humanitarian projects to build homes for the elderly, which could receive state subsidies, but would then be turned into fully commercial projects and would be sold for profit. The International Association led by Boki 13, where Remenski was the honorary President, collected at least a million EUR from two such developers.