The analyses of state institutions over crude oil imports have shown irregularities among a portion of the importing companies. Orders to ban operations, ban distribution of crude oil and terminate licenses have been already issued, while seven companies have been fined in the amount of EUR 55,510.
Deputy PM for the fight against corruption and crime Ljupcho Nikolovski told a press conference on Wednesday that all findings have been forwarded to the Basic Prosecutor’s Office for further processing and possible criminal responsibility.
“All of this shows that right after the airing of the investigative story of the Investigative Reporting Lab (IRL), the competent institutions were instructed to carry out urgent, extraordinary and in-depth controls of the entire process of import or production up to sales of crude oil and oil derivatives. The Government institutions proceeded immediately in line with their jurisdiction and issued the proper penalties,” said Deputy PM Nikolovski.
He said citizens are the Government’s top priority and there would be no concessions in this regard, adding there is nothing to hide and people should be briefed on everything.
Economy Minister Kreshnik Bekteshi said enhanced controls would be carried out in the following period in order to protect consumers and the environment.
“The quality of oil derivatives used by citizens and industrial capacities must be in accordance with the highest safety standards. We committed to this by adopting the Law on Energy a couple of years ago, and it is also part of the EU directives that we are fully aligned with,” said Bekteshi.
Company “Blue Technology” sold crude oil PPD that is not declared in the Rulebook on liquid fuels and the company’s operations have been temporarily banned.
Shtip-based company “Sans AG” produced crude oil from used tires and its operations have also been banned, along with a request for termination of the B-integrated license.
Irregularities were also found in company “Evrotim”, which imported crude oil with limiting values not corresponding to the Rulebook. A ban for distribution of the crude oil has been issued.
The analyses also found irregularities in the water levels in five tank trucks of company “Supertrejd”.
In total, seven companies – RKM DOOEL, Supertrejd, Evrotim, Pertinaks-Skopje, Li-oil DB Kavadarci, Blue Technology and Ka-oil Energy Kavadarci – have been fined.
