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Abuse of IPARD funds in North Macedonia/ 5 people arrested for bribery

2025-11-11 19:53:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

North Macedonian police have arrested the director of the State Agency for Payments of National and Community Aid for Rural Development, Ilia Stoilev, on charges of bribery in order to illegally approve financing for an agricultural enterprise in the country.

Stoilev, who comes from the ruling VMRO-DPMNE party, is suspected of having agreed with a former minister of the country to receive the sum of 50,000 euros in order to approve a subsidy for an agricultural enterprise owned by the latter.

The funding comes from the European Union's IPA/IPARD program, which supports rural development actions in candidate countries.

The head of the Agency was arrested red-handed while receiving 400 euros as an advance payment of the total amount. Four other people have been arrested in the same case. All five arrested were remanded in custody.

The beneficiaries of EU aid are mainly farmers, livestock breeders and investors in the agricultural sector, as well as processing companies.

After the scandal was revealed, the North Macedonian government announced the indefinite suspension of all funds for beneficiaries of the EU program, until the investigation into the case is completed. Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski said that the suspension was necessary to check all possible irregularities, as there are suspicions that similar cases have occurred in the past.

The opposition Social Democratic Party (SDSM) accused Mickoski's government of "widespread corruption", warning that the country risks losing around 100 million euros in EU funds for the agricultural sector, while adding that thousands of farmers in the country will be left without EU subsidies.

The party also argued that the decision to suspend the funds actually came from the EU itself and not from Mickoski’s government, while demanding the resignation of the Minister of Agriculture.

Responding to this, Mickoski stressed that the European Union has not blocked funds for the agricultural sector in North Macedonia, arguing that the initiative for a temporary suspension was a government decision, which was also welcomed by the European Commission.

For their part, the EU delegation to North Macedonia said that the European Commission has requested additional information from the country's competent institutions and added that the EU reserves the right to take preventive measures to protect its financial interests.

Diplomatic sources said that the involvement of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) in the investigation is not ruled out and that if irregularities are found regarding the allocation of EU funds, North Macedonia could be forced to return the money to the EU. /CNA