The former director of the Government’s General and Common Affairs Service in North Macedonia has been charged with four criminal offenses, while police have also conducted internal investigations.
The Financial Police Administration has filed criminal charges against Pece Mirčevski, the former director of the Government’s General and Common Affairs Service, for bribery, document forgery, embezzlement, and negligence in office. Another indictment has been filed against the owner of a Skopje-based company that operates a car rental service for offering a bribe.
According to the MIA news agency, Mirčevski was detained last night (February 5) at the Kisela Voda police station, along with the car rental service owner.
The Skopje Public Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that the Financial Police had taken action to gather evidence for four criminal offenses, conducting searches at multiple locations in Skopje with a court-issued warrant.
Conflict of Interest and Document Forgery
According to the Financial Police, during his tenure (June 2021 – June 2024), Mirčevski signed five public procurement contracts with the company owned by the second accused without disclosing a conflict of interest. Furthermore, he continued to benefit financially from this company even after leaving office.
“Mirčevski knowingly and intentionally entered false information into five official documents, falsely declaring the absence of a conflict of interest. These documents were then used as legitimate, constituting a criminal offense under Article 361 of the Criminal Code,” the Financial Police stated.
Between January 2022 and June 2024, Mirčevski allegedly misused public funds by misrepresenting personal trips as official travel. He reportedly used government funds for airfare, hotel stays, and rental cars for private purposes, causing financial damage amounting to 1,792,859 denars (approximately €29,000).
Additionally, he is accused of abusing his role as director and manager of the Government’s Aviation Service by authorizing payments to an unqualified pilot, who improperly received over 3,444,615 denars (approximately €56,000) from the state budget.
Fake Journalist Delegations for Official Trips
The news portal “Plusinfo” published documents revealing that the Government’s General and Common Affairs Service covered the travel and accommodation expenses for six individuals falsely listed as journalists during a joint Macedonian-Bulgarian government session in January 2022. The first name on the “journalist” list was Pece Mirčevski himself.
At the time, the government had initially assigned the Secretariat General to cover journalists’ travel costs. However, this responsibility was later shifted to Mirčevski’s department. Later, Alsat TV published further evidence proving that instead of journalists, government employees had taken part in the trip.
Internal Investigations in the Ministry of Interior
According to sources from the Skopje Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Ministry of Interior has launched an internal investigation into suspected procurement fraud related to official vehicle maintenance contracts. Investigations are underway at 16 locations.
“Due to the ongoing investigation, we cannot disclose further details at this time,” the Prosecutor’s Office stated.
Unofficial sources indicate that the probe is focused on suspected collusion between economic operators and Ministry of Interior officials regarding public tenders for vehicle servicing.
