On the American blacklist, but not before the Macedonian judiciary
Express newspaper
22/09/2025 15:32
Most of the people from North Macedonia who have been blacklisted by the US, mainly due to suspicions of corruption and influence over the judiciary, continue to be active in politics and business.
Sanctions seem to have contributed to the decline in credibility, but cases of judicial resolution of corruption cases are rare.
More than four years ago, the Black Drini River in Struga suddenly turned colorful in the evening, changing the color of its flow to blue, green, and red. It gained its new look thanks to lateral and underwater lighting along the river.
On the evening of June 21, 2021, the mayor of Struga, Ramiz Merko, at a ceremony with fireworks and celebrations, declared that the Black Drin “will look like an aquarium.” But since September 17, the river’s lighting has been overshadowed by corruption allegations.
The underwater lighting of the Black Drin brought to the surface a new indictment against Mayor Merko, after the Struga prosecution submitted a proposal to file an indictment regarding contracts for lighting a part of the riverbed.
It is suspected that from the beginning of April 2021 to the end of June 2022 he exceeded his official powers during the awarding of tenders, without first obtaining a water permit from the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning.
“During the procedure, the Prosecutor’s Office has taken several actions and provided expertise, according to which the installation of 300 lighting fixtures has negatively affected the water regime, the morphology of the river bed and its hydro-biological system,” the Prosecutor’s Office announced.
With this action, a damage of almost 110.000 euros was caused to the budget of the municipality he heads, while the money was paid to the company TG BM Electric.
Accusations against Ramiz Merko, one of the longest-serving presidents in North Macedonia, who is currently nearing the end of his fourth and final term, began to mount one after another after he ended up on the US blacklist.
On June 20, 2023, the US State Department declared him inadmissible for entry into the country, including his immediate family – his wife Shpresa and three children: Genci, Nazmien, and Drenusha.
The indictment for the lighting of the Black Drin represents the tenth indictment against Ramiz Merko.
The previous nine are currently being tried in the courts of Struga and Bitola. Most recently, he was acquitted by a non-final decision in the case of purchasing an Audi car for official work, worth almost 70.000 euros. In a case of illegal appointment of directors in Struga schools, he was sentenced to a fine of 10.000 euros.
The Basic Public Prosecution Office has told Radio Free Europe (REL) that other legal proceedings against Merko are also underway – including the case of the memorial plaque on the Struga municipality building, and illegal construction near the “Drim” hotel.
Jakimovski in the race for a new mandate in Karposh
Unlike Merko, whose political career will most likely end after the upcoming local elections, his colleague from Karposh, Stevche Jakimovski, is running for a fifth term as head of the municipality.
An indictment was filed against him in 2019 for several criminal offenses, but a significant portion of the charges were time-barred due to changes in the Criminal Code.
The only completed trial, related to the construction of the municipal building, resulted in a sentence of 3.5 years in prison in April 2025, but the decision is not yet final. Jakimovski has announced an appeal to the Court of Appeal.
Grubi, in Gruevski’s footsteps
Just days after being blacklisted by the US for involvement in high-level corruption and political influence over the judiciary, former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Artan Grubi fled the country.
Immediately after the sanctions were announced, the Prosecutor’s Office opened a case against him for abuses in the State Lottery, related to the purchase of electronic gambling machines.
Minister Pance Toshkovski made a public appeal that, if he does not return to the country himself, “the right way will be found for him to behave.”
The latest information, from the end of July, from the Ministry of Internal Affairs for REL, was that “they are in constant communication with the competent services from the countries where, according to operational information, the person may be located.” Since then, until today, the ministry has not published any new information about Grubi’s escape and location.
Of the 13 people on the American blacklist, Grubi is the only one who “keeps company” with former Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski – both are on the run.
The difference is that the former prime minister, who is in Hungary, has been sentenced by a final decision, while there is only a criminal complaint against Grubi.
In addition to the politicians, those under US sanctions include the former director of the Security and Counterintelligence Administration (UBK), Sasho Mijalkov, as well as businessmen Yordan Kamchev, Sergey Samsonenko, Kocho Andjusev and their close family members. Their businesses in North Macedonia are not subject to any punitive measures or restrictions.
In the first nine months of 2025, the US has not added any new names to the blacklist, although US sanctions on most of them have had no negative effect.
On social networks, before the start of the local election campaign, speculation is circulating about new names of politicians who could be affected by American sanctions.
According to Alsat television, the position of the Public Diplomacy Department of the US Embassy in North Macedonia is that the possibility of expanding the list with new names still exists.
“No corrupt actor should be immune from accountability. The United States will continue to work with partners in government, civil society, and the private sector to strengthen transparency and fight crime,” the US Embassy in North Macedonia said in a statement. /REL