Sasho Mijalkov, former director of the Administration for Security and Counterintelligence (UBK), has been sentenced to 8 years in prison for abuse of office in the case dubbed “Vault”.
Goran Grujevski, former chief of the UBK’s Fifth Department, who is currently a fugitive of justice, was given a 15-year prison term, while former Assistant Minister of Interior Nebojsha Stajkovikj has been sentenced to 5 years imprisonment.
In addition, former Mijalkov’s Office chief Toni Jakimovski received a 5-year prison term for aiding and abetting the crime.
“Defendant Sasho Mijalkov and the other defendants premeditated the crimes and concluded the agreements with the only goal of benefiting FINZI DOOEL Skopje,” said presiding judge Dzheneta Begtovikj in the ruling elaboration.
The defendants are obliged to compensate the Budget damages, whereas funds in the amount of nearly Mden 11 million (EUR 176,000) have been confiscated from the FINZI company.
The defendants have the right to appeal the ruling to the Appellate Court.
The Vault case was taken over by the Basic Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime and Corruption from the now-defunct Special Prosecutor’s Office. The defendants are charged with abuse of office and Budget damages in the amount of EUR 862,000 for the procurement of electronic communications equipment for the UBK’s Fifth Department and related training. According to the indictment, instead of the MoI directly procuring the equipment from a UK-based company GAMA, the defendants carried out the procurement via an intermediary firm FINZI DOOEL Skopje, resulting in the abuse of state funds.
Back in February, Mijalkov was sentenced to 12 years in prison in the “Target-Fortress” case related to the mass surveillance and destruction of the UBK equipment used for the interception of communications. Grujevski was given a 15-year prison term while Jakimovski to 6 years imprisonment in the same case.
