N. Macedonia's chief prosecutor detained over alleged abuse of power

SKOPJE - North Macedonia's chief prosecutor of the Special Prosecutor's Office (SPO) Katica Janeva was detained on suspicion of abuse of power to pursue personal gain, the State Public Prosecutor Ljubomir Joveski said in a press conference here on Wednesday.

According to Joveski, evidence suggests that Janeva had committed "a criminal act" by abusing her position of power.

"The prosecution has decided to extend the investigation against prosecutor Janeva, who has been taken under arrest and we will ask the court in charge to approve the detention," Joveski said.

Joveski told reporters that the evidence shows that Janeva secured private gain in amount of 250,000 Macedonian Denars (around $4,517) by using her influence in a proceeding against a suspect in the judicial case known as "Empire".

Joveski declared that Janeva is under suspicion of offering forgiveness "to a businessman" in exchange for money.

Earlier on Wednesday, police searched her home in Skopje's Kozle neighborhood, Macedonian Information Agency reported.

Moreover, in July the local media reported on her alleged involvement in extorting a well-known North Macedonia's businessman Orce Kamcev, which was dismissed by her.

A court in North Macedonia opened an investigation last month on the case known as the "Racket", in which two suspects, Bojan Jovanovski and Zoran Milevski, were arrested on suspicion of extorting a total of 1.5 million euros (around $1.66 million) from Kamcev.

There is a suspicion that Jovanovski and Milevski took cash from Kamcev in exchange for a lighter sentence in another case by using their alleged influence with Katica Janeva's office.

Janeva offered her resignation from the SPO in July, citing the political dispute between the ruling majority and the opposition over the legislation to resolve the status of the SPO.

The Public Prosecutor's Office for prosecuting criminal offences related to and arising from the content of the illegally intercepted communication, known as the Special Prosecutor's Office, was created in September 2015 to investigate high-level crime during a crisis involving the previous government.