President Gjorge Ivanov accused the UBK secret service of wiretapping his office and his family, as part of its attempts to influence political outcomes in favor of the Government.

UBK is the source of our political, institutional and security crises. Instead of upholding the law, the UBK is operating outside of its lawful mandate. It is being abused like many times in the past to engineer fake criminal cases, for pesecution and blackmail. It is an instrument used to deligitimize the institutions of our state. I keep receiving information that I, members of my family and my associates are under surveillance by the UBK, which is based on verbal orders, President Ivanov in his address before the Parliament.

A recent detention order against two former Government officials included a still classified UBK report which falsely claimed that they asked President Ivanov for pardons. According to the President, this reports is clear proof that UBK is wiretapping his office and is not even trying to hide it. President Ivanov said that the proposed plan to remove UBK from the Interior Ministry and place it under Government oversight will only further politicize the institution which was formed as part of the Communist era police state system.