Despite SDSM’s calls for him to resign over the arrest of Agency for Financial Support of Agriculture and Rural Development Director Ilija Stoilev, the Agriculture, Water Economy, and Forestry Minister, Cvetan Tripunovski, has said he will not do so.
So far, the investigation has shown that Xhevdet Nasufi, former Minister of Justice and of Local Self-Government in the 1998-2002 cabinet headed by then-PM Ljubco Georgievski, promised to Stoilev that he would pay him 50,000 euros, while police caught the Director with the initial amount, 400 euros, received by him personally.
According to the investigation, the bribe aimed at Nasufi’s company getting IPARD funds despite not meeting conditions.
“The opposition is calling on me to resign, but I want to highlight that the Agency is a separate institution that has separate management, a separate managing body that works according to their plan and activities, so I see no connection”, Tripunovski stressed on Saturday, calling for the case to be fully investigated and for action to be taken according to the law in the event of accountability being determined.
The previous day, PM Hristijan Mickoski, had stated that “such type of deviant conduct” would not be tolerated.
“After there had been previously tips about such type of deviant conduct, that operation took place. From this point on, the case is in the hands of the Prosecutor’s Office, courts, and so on”, he underlined.
SDSM, on its part, stated that the “corruption scandal” was calling into question EU support when it came to the implementation of the 128-million-euro IPARD III programme.
“128 million euros from the whole 7-year programme are at risk, money that was supposed to be a driver of our agriculture. That means there are no new calls anymore, that the announcements about new calls cannot be opened, that there are no new agreements that will be signed, but also that there are no payments concerning projects that are currently being funded”, the opposition party’s Ljupco Nikolovski, a former Agriculture Minister, noted.
On the other hand, Tripunovski is adamant that the Agency will continue to work unimpededly and that he doesn’t believe IPARD funds and national payments are compromised. The Minister also stated that Stoilev’s arrest meant the Government had shown an unselective approach to corruption.
According to SDSM, however, Tripunovski should explain why he’s claimed he is not linked to the case, considering that Jasmina Kostadinova, a former Special Adviser of his, currently an employee of the Ministry, is a suspect.
Regarding the case, General IPA Auditor Milaim Abduraimi told Telma that it was up to the EC to decide whether or not it would freeze IPARD III funds. Among the other suspects is a tax officer employed by the Public Revenue Office (PRO).
Nasufi is the manager of SIGNAS-AGRO, a Velesta-based company. He is suspected of giving a bribe and reward for unlawful influence, while Stoilev is suspected of receiving a bribe. Those two people, as well as other two suspects, have been issued a detention measure, while the fifth suspect is under house arrest.