SDSM party leader Zaev has declared property worth 729,231 thousand Euros, but in his name he owns only a claim on the basis of a loan of nearly 70 thousand Euros. Right behind him is the leader of the opposition VMRO-DPMNE, Hristijan Mickovski, with property amounting to about 553 thousand Euros. Ziadin Sela (Coalition AZA and Alternative) has property of 192 thousand Euros and Ali Ahmeti (DUI) of 134 thousand Euros, both of whom enter the race as holders of electoral lists in constituency number six.
By SCOOP Team
Modest, with a smile on his face and often with his hand on his chest when he speaks as a gesture of sincerity. This is how the public got to know Zoran Zaev from Strumica, who even before sitting in the SDSM presidential chair was considered a rich man in public, a man to whom politics should be his hobby. But when reporters tried to peek into his bank account, they wondered why, although powerful and with the voice of a rich man, Zaev still had none of the property in his name. Miraculously or not, it is the same to this day.
Although only the claim on the basis of a loan of nearly 70 thousand Euros appears in his name, when everything that Zaev has declared in the questionnaire is considered, his wealth comes down to property worth about 730 thousand Euros. Right behind him is the leader of the opposition VMRO-DPMNE, Hristijan Mickovski, with property amounting to about 553 thousand Euros. Ziadin Sela (Coalition AZA and Alternative) performs with property of 192 thousand Euros and Ali Ahmeti (DUI) with 134 thousand Euros, both enter the race as holders of electoral lists in constituency number six.
SCOOP has closely analyzed the property of party leaders ahead of the announced parliamentary elections, as part of the PEP (Politically Exposed Persons) project.
Both Zaev and Mickovski have loans, but the opposition leader is poorer by 200,000 Euros.
SCOOP previously researched and wrote about Zaev, within the project Politically Exposed Persons. He is fifth on the list of the richest members of the government. According to the analysis of the data from Zaev’s property list from 2018, his declared property has a value of 729,231 thousand Euros. Only the claim on the basis of a loan of nearly 70 thousand Euros appears in his name. The overdue foreign currency deposit of 7,000 Euros belongs to his wife, whereas 27,000 Euros have been reported to be in his children’s accounts. The house, the business premises, the apartment in Strumica, the agricultural land in Murtino and the shares worth about 200 thousand Euros belong to his parents.
Today, Zaev owns property worth 728,193 Euros. He supplemented it with an apartment with auxiliary premises in Strumica in his wife’s name, a loan of 7 thousand Euros, also in her name and a motor vehicle “Mini Cooper S” in his children’s name. In Zaev’s current property list, the time deposit deposited in his wife’s name has been reduced from 7 thousand to 200 Euros.
With 175 thousand Euros less than the ex-prime minister is the opposition leader, Hristijan Mickoski, who owns property worth about 553 thousand Euros. He took over this position at the sixteenth extraordinary congress of VMRO-DPMNE, replacing Nikola Gruevski. Previously, in 2016 he was the director of JSC “Macedonian Power Plants”, and in the period 2015-2017 he was energy advisor to the Prime Ministers Nikola Gruevski and Emil Dimitriev.
From the State Commission for Prevention of Corruption SCOOP received the data on Mickoski’s property at the time when he was director of JSC ELEM. In this property list, the then director declared that he owned a house with a yard in Skopje worth 350,000 Euros. The property list includes: a loan of 75 thousand Euros, as well as a deposit with also 75 thousand Euros, a loan of 9 thousand Euros, cash of 30,000 Euros and a car “Citroen C5” of 13 thousand Euros.
Last year, the SCPC opened a case against Mickoski regarding the procedures for obtaining concessions for the construction of small hydropower plants. However, it was closed because, as explained by the SCPC, Mickoski was unable to use the position of advisor to the Government and a member of the Supervisory Board in order to gain some rights or benefits.
The leaders of the Albanian parties with less property
The constituency that covers the municipalities of northwest Macedonia is number six and these early elections it will be led by Ali Ahmeti and Ziadin Sela from DUI and the Alliance for Albanians (AZA).
Constituency 6 covers the territory of 11 municipalities: Tetovo, Gostivar, Tearce, Brvenica, Bogovinje, Vrapchiste, Zhelino, Jegunovce and Kichevo (part).
DUI party leader Ali Ahmeti will run in the sixth constituency.
In 2008, after resigning from MP, Ahmeti owned property worth about 426,000 Euros. The property list at the time consisted of a land and a house in Zajas, an apartment in Skopje, a land in Durres, Albania, an Opel Astra and a current account of 2,000 Euros. With the same property list, he again ran for parliament in the 2011 elections. In 2013, when he resigned, he lost his land in Zajas, changed his Opel Astra with a Volkswagen Polo, and increased his transaction account, bringing the total to 280,000 Euros. Three years later, Ahmeti’s last declared property as MP to the SCPC was 134,076 Euros. The current property list also includes an agricultural land of $ 30,000 and a $ 100,000 house in Kichevo, as well as a transaction account of 12,333 Euros and a Volkswagen Polo worth 7,000 Euros. Only the apartment in Skopje is missing, which in 2014 was removed on the basis of a gift agreement.
From the Coalition Alliance for Albanians and Alternative, AZA leader Ziadin Sela will be on the list. In the 2013 local elections, Sela won the mayoral post in the city of Struga. In the 2016 parliamentary elections, the coalition led by him, the Alliance for Albanians, participated in the elections in which Sela was elected a member of the Macedonian Parliament.
Ziadin Sela’s first state function was director of the State Health and Sanitary Inspectorate. At the time, his modest property was close to 19,000 Euros, consisting of a land, a forest, two houses, three cars, an Audi, a Citroen, a Yugo and two loans.
When he became mayor of Struga in 2013, his property amounted to 365 thousand Euros, and consisted of a house, a land and a forest worth 360 thousand Euros, three cars, “Audi”, “BMW” and “Citroen”, for which no value had been specified and a transaction account in the amount of 6 thousand Euros.
Sela’s next property change took place with the entry of the function of MP, when in SCPC he declared property worth 192,367 Euros. Everything he owns is personal and consists of: a land and a house in the village of Livada in Struga worth 112,835 Euros. He also has a forest in Struga worth 59,805 Euros, and owns a vehicle “Jaguar S-Type 2,7D” worth 59,805 Euros and a loan of 9,919 Euros.
