Thursday saw the start of the main hearing in the IPARD trial. Opening statements were made by the Prosecutor’s Office and the defense attorneys.
In the legal process, former Payment Agency Director Ilija Stoilev is charged with receiving a reward for unlawful influence, while Xhevdet Nasufi (who served as minister in the 1998-2002 cabinet headed by Ljubcho Georgievski), as the manager of a company, is accused of giving a bribe and organized influence.
According to the charge, tens of thousands of euros were promised and paid in order to ensure the approval of IPARD funds for a company that did not meet requirements.
In her opening statement, Prosecutor Natasha Pop-Trajkova emphasized it was about a corrupt system that “has a first and last name”. She added that not only had it undermined trust in domestic institutions, but also it had called into question the trust of international partners in the management of European funds. However, the defense for Stoilev and Nasufi completely rejected the allegations.