Company owner Ritron Copi arrested in connection with Macedonian State Lottery case

Ajrul was arrested in connection with the accepted tenders for the purchase of TVs for state-owned stock society.

REL reported on 17 December that the count of purchased equipment was made at the request of the Financial Police, which is investigating tenders for the purchase of televisions of different dimensions from the Airul-owned Ritro Copi company.

Financial police have checked remittances from the Kumanovo company for the number of submitted TVs, and if they are of the same brands for which the contracts are binding.

Four months ago, investigators checked other state Lottery tenders for marketing and related promotion.

Last year, REL reported that the tender of about 205 thousand euros was won by the AP company Solutions, whose owner and manager, Flamur Navzatovski, was employed in Ritro Copi. This company, in fact, was the only contender in the tender.

At the time, 19-year-old Nevzatovski did not answer REL's questions about his knowledge of trade and tender application, taking into account his age, from which he would get Lotta's terminals and whether he was probably the resting owner of AP Solutions.

Public records of the Retron Copi company on Facebook later revealed photos of Artan Ajrul and Progress Bajrami, who at the time had no position in State Lottery.

From tenders' analysis, however, it resulted that from January 2022, the period when Bajrami took up the post of director general of the State Lottery, winner of tenders, was shown by the Ritro Copi company in a co-operative association.

Bajrami and former deputy prime minister of northern Macedonia, Artan Grubi, are required with an international warrant from local authorities as suspected of “adopting illegal property” from State Lottery.

The Public Procurement Bureau suggests that State Lottery has linked six contracts to this company for the purchase of television, computer and communications equipment, multifunctional devices and graphic television drawing stations.

The contracts were linked between June 2022 and mid-October 2023. Their value was 365.252 euros.

Following the departure of Progress Bajrami from the leading position, State Lottaria cut off the framework contracts and no longer exploits their services.