North Macedonia: Nine suspects in Sante Plus case lose passports

Nine individuals suspected in the Sante Plus eye clinic case have had their passports seized by the Criminal Court following a proposal from the Public Prosecutor's Office for Organized Crime and Corruption. The suspects are required to report regularly to the court.

Turkish businessman Bilal Kara, the owner of Sante Plus, was arrested on charges of money laundering. Authorities report that Kara is also wanted in Albania for several offenses, including the failure to report one million euros in income through the clinic International Medicare, formerly known as Sante Plus. Other allegations include the use of expired medications and the illegal importation of medical preparations.

Investigations in Pristina suggest similar legal violations at the Sante Plus facility in Kosovo, where the hospital reportedly operated without a license for two years. Allegations include instances where water was injected into patients instead of botox.

The eye clinic in Skopje is accused of defrauding between 3,000 and 4,000 patients by charging both the health fund and the patients for the same operations. The disputed contract between the health fund and Sante Plus allegedly caused a 1.7 million euro loss to the budget, while the private hospital gained nearly 4.5 million euros in unlawful profits. The contract was signed during the tenure of Den Donchev, who is reportedly currently out of the country.