Zoran Zaev defended his personal friend and until recently head of the powerful FZOM public healthcare fund Den Doncev, after audio and video leaks show him accepting money and discussing using the police against a company. It is reported that the company in question was Diamed, a dialysis provider who was the target of extortion from Doncev and Healthcare Minister Venko Filipce.

Doncev resigned his position shortly after the scandal broke, and it is still unclear whether he fled home to Australia or remains in Macedonia. In the tapes, Doncev talks about pressuring a company with police raids, and consulting Zaev on the issue. He says that the company hired Filip Medarski, Zaev’s personal lawyer, to protect itself, but adds that he worked directly with Zaev and will use him to “come to a mutual understanding” with the company.

During a press conference, Zaev said that the tapes were manipulated and denied that Doncev is discussing the Diamed scandal. He said that the company in question is Total TV, a satellite TV provider, and that Doncev was friends with one of the owners who got into a dispute with a business partner.

Medarski was working on a case between the Total TV owners, who were calling the police on each other. One of the owners is friends with Doncev and they were discussing this with him, Zaev said.

Zaev did not address the part of the leaks where Doncev is heard saying that “the boss (presumably Zaev) authorised the police raid” and the accompanying video leak where Doncev is seen taking what looks like an envelope with money.