Prosecutors denied the report that Lile Stefanova, one of the leading people in the now disgraced Special Prosecutor’s Office, was detained. The news spread quickly this morning, but is now revealed not to be true.

Stefanova was reportedly question prior to Janeva’s resignation and the arrest of Janeva’s associate Bojan Jovanovski – Boki 13 last Monday. Prosecutors are attempting to determine to what extent were various of their colleagues from the SPO involved in the extortion and racketeering of businessman that was allegedly going on.

Stefanova was considered an important expert in the SPO, some of whose better known prosecutors were more involved in the PR aspects of the job. During the shocking press conference last Tuesday, when most of the SPO staff was present to renounce Katica Janeva and lay all blame on her individually, while asking that they keep their positions, Stefanova was asked by the press about her alleged involvement with the extortion. Her technical reply was that she didn’t have any authority to initiate or drop charges and that it was all Janeva, laying the whole responsibility on the defenestrated chief Special Prosecutor.

State prosecutors today added that no prosecutors from the SPO office have been even questioned so far, although some of them called and offered to testify. This has prompted the opposition VMRO-DPMNE party to accuse the organized crime unit of the OJO state prosecutor’s service of trying to cover up the scandal, protect the people close to the ruling SDSM party who were involved in the extortion, and to leave the two defendants Boki 13 and Zoran Mileski – Zoki Kicheec as the designated fall guys.