In troubling case that highlights weaknesses in North Macedonia's justice system, a high-ranking judge and his associates were accused of manipulating state land privatization laws for personal gain. However, due to recent legal amendments, the case was dismissed, sparking concern about the country's ability to combat corruption effectively.

The case came to light in December 2019, when the Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office for Prosecution of Organized Crime and Corruption announced an investigation into eight individuals on well-founded suspicions that they had committed the criminal offense of abuse of official position and authority to obtain ownership of a 4,410 m² plot for a tennis club in Tetovo for a fraction of its actual market value.

According to the prosecution, in 2011, the primary suspect, Judge Zoran Teofilovski, then president of the Tennis Sports Association Ljuboten in Tetovo—and not yet a member of the Judicial Council—initiated a legalization procedure with Tetovo Municipality to register a non-existent building constructed on state-owned land. To that end, he reportedly submitted falsified documents to prove the building's existence. Meanwhile, while the legalization process was still ongoing, another suspect filed a request to privatize this state-owned land, intending to acquire unlawful material benefits for the tennis association. Their actions were intended to obtain property gains for the tennis club through the ownership of construction land valued at MKD 22,050,000 (US$ 370,300).

To pull off the scheme, Teofilovski and his associates, including a municipal surveyor and local government employees, allegedly misused their positions to fast-track the legalization and privatization process. The prosecution determined that between August 2011 and December 2012, Zoran Teofilovski, acting as President of the Tennis Sports Association Ljuboten Tetovo, and Cvetko Naumovski, acting as manager of the same tennis club, intentionally incited defendants Aydin Nuredini, Djemal Abdi, Imran Kurtishi, Krenar Ibrahimi and Idriz Redzepi to misuse their official positions as public employees.

Official reports were falsified, urban planning approvals were issued illegally and decisions were manipulated to grant the club ownership rights at a shockingly low price of MKD 43 per m² (approximately US$ 0.72 per m2), far below market value. This resulted in a financial loss to the state budget, estimated at MKD 52.9 million (around US$ 887,000).

In December 2020, Zoran Teofilovski, a judge and Judicial Council member, alongside other defendants, mostly local public officials, was indicted for participating in a corruption scheme to unlawfully acquire state land.

As the case moved to court, Teofilovski invoked judicial immunity to delay detention. While the Judicial Council revoked Teofilovski’s immunity to allow criminal proceedings, it declined the prosecution's request for his detention. The Court ultimately ordered house arrest for four suspects and issued preventive measures for the rest. Despite facing criminal charges, Teofilovski remained on Judicial Council.

Specifically, Zoran Teofilovski, Aydin Nuredini, Krenar Ibrahimi, Imran Kurtishi, and Djemal Abdi enabled the tennis club to obtain ownership of a non-existent structure with an area of 122 m². On the other hand, Cvetko Naumovski, intending to acquire ownership of state-owned construction land covering an area of 4,410 m², requested to purchase the land. This was done in violation of the law, as the construction parcel was not included in the urban plan and the tennis club had no legally recognized ownership rights over any structure on the land.

Alongside the purchase request, Djemal Abdi submitted documents containing false information. Subsequently, Idriz Redzepi, acting as a public official, conducted an on-site inspection. Misusing his official position, Redzepi entered false information into the inspection report, falsely claiming that he had identified the cadastral parcel and that it conformed to the intended use. Based on this falsified report, a final decision was issued authorizing the privatization of the construction land.

The trial, which began in 2021, faced multiple delays due to postponed hearings. During the proceedings, Teofilovski pleaded not guilty and dismissed the accusations as fabricated. He also issued a statement, presenting counterarguments to the indictment, including claims that the illegal building existed and that the legalization and privatization procedures were legitimate. In July 2022, Teofilovski's mandate as a member of the Judicial Council was terminated.

After years of legal proceedings and delays, the case took a shocking turn. In September 2023, the Basic Criminal Court in Skopje dropped all charges against Zoran Teofilovski and his co- defendants. The decision stemmed from 2023 amendments to North Macedonia’s Criminal Code, which significantly reduced penalties for abuse of office and expedited the statute of limitations. The maximum penalty for this offense was reduced to five years in prison, which set the absolute statute of limitations for this case to 2021—ten years after the alleged offenses occurred.

This case illustrates the negative impact of the amendments to the Criminal Code, which have hindered the prosecution of corruption cases involving abuse of official position and authority. As a result, several cases have been dismissed or are likely to be due to statute of limitations issues, allowing defendants accused of corruption to avoid accountability. These changes raise concerns about the integrity of judicial reforms and undermine public trust in judicial and state institutions. Public scrutiny and opposition to laws that enable corruption are essential for safeguarding justice and accountability.