Steven N.Former prime minister of North Macedonia Nikola Gruevski was sentenced to seven years in jail in absentia for stealing money from his own political party and buying property with it, reports Balkan Insight.
The news outlet writes that Gruevski “was found guilty at Skopje Criminal Court on Thursday of unlawfully acquiring over 1.3 million euros from his former ruling VMRO DPMNE party, and of instigating a money-laundering scheme to cover his tracks and buy property with the proceeds.”
Gruevski led North Macedonia between 2006-2016, and in 2018 fled to Hungary with the assistance of the Hungarian government, where he was received by Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó and was granted asylum status. Last year, the former PM founded a company in Pécel, just to the east of Budapest. [444]
