The Skopje Prosecutor's Office has launched an investigation against the former Deputy Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Artan Grubi, and the judge of the Court of Appeals, Enver Bexheti, after they were sanctioned by the US Department of State.
Chief Prosecutor Ljubco Kocevski announced that the aim of the investigation is to establish whether there is criminal responsibility for Grubi and Bexheti.
Meanwhile, the US State Department accused them of being "involved in high-level corruption and accepting bribes to obstruct" the judicial processes related to the conviction of Sasho Mijalkov, former director of the Directorate for Security and Counterintelligence (DSK).
"Regarding the blacklist, I would like to inform you that I have formed cases to provide evidence to prove the criminal liability of the persons mentioned for bribery and influence peddling. The prosecution will issue further orders. I would like to emphasize that the cooperation with the US and the [American] Embassy is excellent and they help us in the fight against corruption," Kocevski told reporters.