Massive Corruption Arrests In Macedonia

Those arrested have been charged with taking bribes and abuse of office when granting and calculating disability pension certificates for state pensions. The police announced that the investigation is ongoing and that officers are still searching the suspects' homes and offices for evidence.

Police spokesman Ivo Kotevski said that they have registered at least 50 cases of abuse and that almost certainly there will be more after the ongoing investigation is completed.

The detained, many of them reportedly still wearing their white coats, have been brought before an investigative judge in Skopje where they were to give their statements. The judge ruled that all the individuals who were arrested should remain in custody.

It has not been disclosed how much money the suspects may have cost the state pension system, nor how much they allegedly took from their clients.