Macedonia probes Eurostandard Bank collapse and illegal medical imports in organized crime case

Macedonian prosecutors have filed an indictment against three senior officials of Eurostandard Bank AD Skopje, accusing them of orchestrating the bank’s bankruptcy between 2013 and 2019. The charges allege approval of loans to insolvent borrowers, concealment of the bank’s true financial state, and failure to meet legal and internal banking requirements, causing losses estimated at 1.66 trillion denars to depositors.

The investigation has been expanded to a separate organized‑crime network involved in the illegal import, distribution and application of medical products, including botox. Raids were carried out at five locations in Skopje, two of which were health institutions, leading to the arrest of three individuals – two of them doctors – and the charging of a fourth person with criminal association and infringement of industrial‑property rights. The probe continues to identify all participants and determine the full scope of the illicit activities.