North Macedonia’s Office for the Prosecution of Organised Crime and Corruption has launched an investigation into three individuals as part of the “Aditiv” case, including the head of the State Commission for the Prevention of Corruption (SCPC), Tatjana Dimitrovska, who is suspected of leaking classified information via Viber and WhatsApp.
According to prosecutors, Dimitrovska — the third suspect named in the case — allegedly transmitted official secrets to one of the defendants in the “Aditiv” case just three months after taking office in February 2024.
“The third suspect is believed to have taken a series of deliberate, time-linked actions amounting to multiple instances of the same offence, facilitated by ongoing relations and similar circumstances,” the prosecution said in a statement.
Between May and December 2024, Dimitrovska is alleged to have shared sensitive information via her official phone and messaging apps, including details of ongoing procedures involving individuals and legal entities under investigation in the “Aditiv” case. This included information about asset inspections of the defendant and his family. Such disclosures are prohibited under North Macedonia’s anti-corruption law and criminal code.
The SCPC, once seen as one of the most credible institutions in the country’s anti-corruption fight, has faced a wave of public criticism and dismay in the wake of the investigation.
“It takes time to build something, brick by brick — and then this happens. A very serious blow to the SCPC,” a former commission member told local media on condition of anonymity.
Dimitrovska, who previously spent 19 years at the State Audit Office — including two as deputy auditor general — was expected to bring professional integrity to the commission. She also held previous roles in institutions with strict integrity policies prohibiting the use of official information for personal or third-party gain.
By law, public officials are also barred from using sensitive information obtained during their mandate for up to three years after leaving office.
Dimitrovska’s appointment in late 2023 was rated highest by the parliamentary selection commission, scoring 76 out of a possible 100. However, two civil society representatives on the panel, Snezana Kamilovska Trpovska and Nikola Dodov, gave her lower scores and later criticized the process as biased and orchestrated.
A civil society platform working on anti-corruption later backed Trpovska’s assessment.
The broader “Aditiv” case involves 31 individuals and five companies accused of public procurement fraud and other crimes, including former ESM state energy company director Vasko Kovacevski, who is currently on the run. Prosecutors say the group caused an estimated €6.5 million in damage to the state budget through manipulated procurement procedures.
