Game Show Host Stojanovska Charged with Tax Evasion

Game show host Lila Stojanovska evaded nearly two million denars in tax, the Financial Police Office has found. The charge came from Dan-Mak, the company that had transferred, on three occasions, a little over 16 million denars to Stojanovska’s personal bank account on the basis of a contract for a project for an international association for human rights protection. As the Office said on Monday, Stojanovska withdrew the money in full and in cash, but didn’t pay 1,788,398 denars. Last week, Dan-Mak co-owner Ena Nornild, said that Stojanovska, claiming to be a close friend of Bojan Jovanovski, who’s a suspect in the Extortion case, had defrauded the company of 250,000 euros, as part of Jovanovski’s scheme for alleged participation in EU projects to build nursing homes. Stojanovska denied those claims. Several days prior, she’d appeared as a witness in the Extortion case, saying she money from an account of hers that hadn’t been transferred by anybody was given by her as a donation to Jovanovski’s 1 TV, which is now defunct. Also on Monday, Stojanovska’s lawyers reacted to the criminal charge. As they explained, the company had an obligation to inform her about the tax. Furthermore, it was added, it’s a fact that Stojanovska returned the entire amount in full before the deadline for the annual tax return expired. Based on that, according to the lawyers, in accordance with the established practice in Macedonia, it is considered that Stojanovska didn’t generate incomes. The lawyers added that Stojanovska’s rights were being violated because the criminal charge had been filed even though their client hadn’t been enabled to give a statement or present evidence.  Monday also saw the hearing over the Extortion case delayed because of Jovanovski’s medical condition.