By Xhelal Neziri

The former director of the Security and Counterintelligence Directorate (DSK), Sasho Mijalkov, was spotted parking his red Ferrari at a luxury hotel in Monte Carlo. A receptionist awaited the keys to his car to park it in a secure spot.

In the background, ABBA’s 1976 song “Money, Money, Money” played. This video clip was posted on social media by promoters of the city’s extravagant luxury, for which it is well-known. It seems Mijalkov didn’t know he was being filmed. In North Macedonia, he still has unresolved matters with the courts and should not have been seen outside the country. His cousin, former Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, is enjoying luxury in Budapest. Together with Mijalkov, they amassed enormous wealth while jointly governing the country from 2006 to 2016.

Meanwhile, former Deputy Prime Minister Artan Grubi has fled and is reportedly living somewhere “in Albanian territories.” He was added to the U.S. “blacklist” for actions in 2023, where, together with Judge Enver Bexheti, they allowed the statute of limitations to expire on Mijalkov’s key case—massive illegal wiretapping. Several other cases against him were dropped following amendments to the Criminal Code by the ruling coalition of SDSM and DUI. While these parties now squirm in opposition, and Grubi is on the run, Mijalkov enjoys the wealth he accumulated through much “effort” and cunning.

These are not the only names that entered politics as social cases but now sit atop a mountain of luxury. Dozens of other officials were spared through changes to the Criminal Code. Hundreds more officials remain uninvestigated. Politics no longer creates oligarchies; politicians themselves become oligarchs.

This situation continues to reinforce the belief that corruption “pays off.” It makes politics attractive to the insatiable, who see this noble activity, which determines people’s quality of life, as the shortest route to wealth that ensures a life of extravagant luxury for several generations.

Meanwhile, citizens, consciously or unconsciously, create these greedy figures with their votes and activism. Patriotism, ethno-nationalism, and other “isms” are there to obscure the view.