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Macedonia ex-deputy PM arrested for State Lottery corruption
Former Deputy Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Artan Grubi, was arrested on February 23, 2026, while trying to enter the country from Kosovo.
Grubi was wanted and had a warrant issued against him as part of a criminal investigation into corruption, abuse of office, and violations of public procurement laws.
The authorities confirmed that after his arrest at the Blace border, Grubi was taken to the prison of Sutka in Skopje, and the public prosecutor’s office is expected to give more details as the case goes forward.
It’s believed that Grubi committed offences connected to contracts with the State Lottery, which caused financial damage of more than €8 million to the state budget.
Not only Grubi, but also other officials, including the former State Lottery director Perparim Bajrami, previously had international arrest warrants against them for obtaining Video Lottery Terminals (VLTs) and misusing public funds.
In December 2024, Grubi was additionally placed on the U.S. State Department’s blacklist for involvement in corruption and accepting bribes.
The former Deputy Prime Minister served in his position from 2020 to 2024, after which it was reported that he had been outside of the country for more than a year on the run.
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