During one of the SPO hearings held today, prosecutor Lile Stefanova mistakenly produced a wrong passport before the court – that of businessman Aleksandar Ivanovski – Terranova – a passport she should not be holding. This prompted speculations in the courthouse that Stefanova is working with Ivanovski to have him as a protected witness, and use him to ensnare political opponents of the Zaev regime.

The trial held today is aimed against former Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, businessman Jordan Orce Kamcev and former VMRO-DPMNE party officials, allegedly over improper purchases of land in Skopje. His company Terranova was target of financial inspections in the months leading up to his testimony in this trial, which added to the impression that he is being pressured by prosecutors to testify against Gruevski.

Under the Zaev regime, the judiciary has introduced blackmail of businessman as a widespread practice in the numerous politically motivated trials aimed against the MVRO-DPMNE party. Some of the best known cases include the use of mobster Zoran Mileski – Zoki Kiceec as a plea-bargain defendant to divert the course of the investigation in the Racket trial, and the testimony of Aleksandar Vasilevski – Ninja, which was the key piece of “evidence” for the blackmail of members of VMRO-DPMNE Parliament in the 27th April trial.

The financial investigation into Ivanovski, Republika has learnt, is allegedly focused on his use of an intermediary as a nominal owner of his real-estate company. With this, Ivanovski was allegedly obscuring his involvement in real-estate deals in case he is subjected to an investigation, while his business partners were informed that he is the de-facto owner and investor.