North Macedonia ex-deputy PM charged in State Lottery fraud case

North Macedonia's former deputy prime minister, Artan Grubi, is among eight individuals indicted by Skopje prosecutors for allegedly causing 8.25 million euros in damages to the State Lottery. The charges stem from a decision made in June 2023 that prosecutors say improperly allowed the State Lottery to independently organize electronic games of chance.

According to the indictment, the former director of the State Lottery, Perparim Bajrami, who is currently on the run, initiated the process. He allegedly informed the then-general secretary of the government, Metodi Dimovski, about the need for independent electronic gaming operations. This occurred despite the State Lottery having invested its right to organize such games as a non-monetary deposit of over 6.2 million euros in 2013 when co-founding a joint venture, thereby securing a 51% stake.

Dimovski then allegedly proposed this matter for a government session, which was presided over by then-Deputy Prime Minister Grubi. Prosecutors claim Grubi, who had significant influence over the State Lottery, pushed for the agenda item to be accepted, even though he knew the decision was outside the government's jurisdiction. Despite this, the government instructed the State Lottery to proceed with organizing electronic games and purchasing video lottery terminals.

Further charges are directed at the president and members of the Supervisory Board, who allegedly approved the public procurement of these terminals despite knowing that legal procedures were not followed. The subsequent procurement and payment obligations resulted in the alleged 8.25 million euro loss for the State Lottery. The Basic Criminal Court in Skopje has scheduled the first hearing for August 24.