Video Adds Weight to North Macedonia ‘Extortion Scandal’

A video published by the online edition of the Italian Newspaper La Verita on Thursday has cast dramatic new light on the so-called extortion scandal that has implicated North Macedonia's chief Special Prosecutor, Katica Janeva, and dealt a blow to the credibility of this crime-busting institution.

The video, reportedly filmed in the home of the controversial businessman Orce Kamcev, shows his suspected blackmailers, Bojan Jovanovski, aka Boki 13, and Zoran Milevski, alias Zoki Kiceec, who are both currently in detention, leaving Kamcev's home with a bag allegedly filled with a million euros.

The footage comprises three parts. The first shows the counting of the banknotes, which are placed in what appears to be a Louis Vuitton bag.

The second, which contains a camera time stamp from February 20, 2019, shows the two suspects leaving what is reportedly the home of Kamcev with what appears to be the same bag.

Jovanovski and Milevski were placed in detention on July 15 when the regular Prosecution for Organised Crime and Corruption opened an investigation into the case.

They were suspected of extorting money from a third person, later revealed to be Kamcev, and who is a suspect in another case run by the Special Prosecution, the SJO, codenamed "Empire".

They were allegedly extorting cash from Kamcev in exchange for a promise to help him avoid a jail sentence, or at least get a lighter sentence by using their alleged influence over the prosecutor running the case.

The scandal rocked the Special Prosecution as on the same day, as part of the ongoing investigation, SJO chief Janeva's phone was seized to check possible connections between her and the suspects.

In late July, the regular prosecution running the...