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The USA blacklists Artan Grub and Enver Bexheti

2024-12-09 21:15:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The USA blacklists Artan Grub and Enver Bexheti

Former Deputy Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Artan Grubi

The American Department of State (DASH) announced on Monday that it has blacklisted the former Deputy Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Artan Grubi, as well as the judge of the Court of Appeal, Enver Behxheti, due to their involvement in " big corruption".

In a press release, DASH said that Grubi and Bexheti "have been involved in major corruption by accepting bribes to undermine the court proceedings related to the criminal conviction of Sasho Mijalkov, the former director of the secret service".

Mijalkov is also on the US blacklist from 2022.

The members of Grubi's immediate family have also been blacklisted, the announcement states.

In July 2022, Mijalkovi was sentenced to three years in prison in the case known as "Empire", for accusations of criminal association, illegal acquisition and concealment of wealth, or money laundering, namely over 8 million euros, through companies " offshore" (company abroad).

In addition to the "Empire" case, he was convicted for several other serious criminal offenses.

The Criminal Court of Skopje on February 26, 2021 sentenced him to 12 years in prison for the criminal offense of "criminal association", "illegal wiretapping" and "destruction of wiretapping equipment". He was sentenced to three years in prison for the illegal acquisition of plots on the tourist mountain "Vodno" in Skopje, while on March 8, 2019, to two years for electoral malpractice.

However, some first-instance decisions have been canceled by the Court of Appeal and returned to retrial, while for two other offenses he may be released from serving the sentence due to the possibility of the statute of limitations.

The case of Sasho Mijallkov has caused the judiciary in North Macedonia to continue to be the target of criticism from the European Union and the United States.

DASH's decision on Grub and Bexheti comes about a month after the American ambassador in Skopje, Angela Ageler, warned on November 21 about the expansion of the black list with other people suspected of crime and corruption in North Macedonia.

Meanwhile, Aggeler said that the decision of DASH on December 9 for Grubi and Bexheti "is evidence that political interference in the judiciary cannot and will not be tolerated".

“The United States will continue to [blacklist] those who engage in grand corruption that undermines democratic institutions and undermines public trust. No one is above the law, while accountability is vital to progress," said Aggeler./REL