The Minister of Justice, Igor Filkov, thanked the allies for their help in uncovering cases of corruption, but believes that the competent institutions have to complete their work in the coming period.

- I am grateful to our partners for helping us in the processes, but we will have to complete some things ourselves. In the period that follows, let's see what will happen, let's not rush to conclusions, says Filkov when asked why there are no corruption investigations from the Macedonian competent institutions for Grubi and judge Bejeti that they committed corruption, while in the USA they have already assessed that there is.

On the additional question of why the Macedonian institutions could not detect and prosecute for corruption the persons who are on the "black list" in the USA and who have been assessed as having acts of corruption, Filkov believes that adjustments are needed.

- I wouldn't say they can't. That means we have a lot of alignment ahead of us. So let's wait and see what happens, says Filkov.

Regarding the reform of the Judicial Council, he announced that they are working on the changes, for which three hearings have been held so far. There is another next week, after which they will summarize things and the Ministry will come out with a concrete proposal.

About the extent of the changes to the Criminal Code, which he announced back in the summer, which should prevent the negative consequences of the changes that were made, and with which the acts related to putting Grubi and Begeti on the "black list" became obsolete. , Filkov expects to be completed by the end of the year.

- I hope that by the New Year we will finish, after which we will go to a press conference and present them, said the Minister of Justice, Filkov, who did not say what the changes would contain.

American Ambassador Angela Ageler, yesterday at a press conference on the expansion of the "black list" of the US State Department with the names of Artan Grubi and Enver Begeti, said that the US will continue to hold accountable the corrupt actors, and that she hopes that the judiciary and law enforcement structures in North Macedonia will do the same.

She added that the evidence on which such a decision is based is not shared with the Macedonian authorities, due to issues related to privacy, but nor should it be, because, she says, the evidence Washington is considering, which we managed to collect, as here in the country, as well as in Washington, are widely available.

The United States Department of State has imposed sanctions against the former Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of North Macedonia, Artan Grubi, and the Judge of the Court of Appeals, Enver Bejeti, due to their involvement in significant corruption.

According to Monday's announcement, Grubi and Bejeti accepted bribes in order to undermine the court proceedings related to the criminal conviction of Sasho Mijalkov, the former director of the Security and Counterintelligence Directorate (UBK). Mijalkov was sanctioned in 2022 for substantial corruption under Section 7031(c) of the State Department's Foreign Operations and Related Programs Act.

In addition to the sanctions on Gruby and Bejetti, entry bans have also been imposed on their family members.