On August 26, the Court of Appeal in Skopje officially confirmed the acquittal of fugitive former Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski in the high-profile “Talir 2” corruption case, media in North Macedonia reported. The final and legally binding decision dismisses the prosecution’s appeal, ending a seven-year legal battle over the illegal financing and construction of the multimillion-euro VMRO-DPMNE party headquarters, known as the “White Palace.”
The Court of Appeals upheld the first-instance court's decision. It ruled that prosecutors failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Gruevski exceeded his official authority or violated political party financing laws.
The outcome of the case was directly influenced by the controversial 2023 amendments to the Criminal Code, adopted by the parliament in Skopje. These legislative changes significantly weakened the framework for prosecuting abuse of office and shortened the statute of limitations. If the court had not issued an acquittal, the case would have fully expired under the statute of limitations within a few days.
The Sloboden pecat portal reported that by confirming the acquittal, the court permanently blocked the state's attempt to confiscate the VMRO-DPMNE headquarters and approximately 30 other frozen properties linked to the party.
While this ruling is a final victory for Gruevski regarding “Talir 2,” his legal status remains highly complex. In the initial trial in 2022, he was sentenced to six years in prison in the case before the Court of Appeals overturned the decision and ordered a retrial.
Gruevski remains a fugitive in Hungary, where he was granted political asylum in 2018 to avoid a separate and final two-year prison sentence from the “Tank” case involving a luxury bulletproof Mercedes. He also faces separate final sentences, including a nine-year sentence upheld by the Court of Appeal in 2023 in the “Vodno Plot” money laundering case.
The Hungarian government continues to reject extradition requests from North Macedonian authorities and his current refugee status in Budapest remains active.
