FORMER DEFENSE MINISTER FOUND GUILTY OF CORRUPTION

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 06728907
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 28, 2022
• Document Release Date: May 8, 2018
• Case Number: F-2017-00089
• Publication Date: January 10, 2007

,Approved for Release: 2018/04/20 C06728907
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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
Dm
DIRECTORATE OF INTELLIGENCE
Balkan Update
10 January 2007
Macedonia Developments
Former Defense Minister Found Guilty of
Corruption
Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski's government
probably will use the guilty verdict offormer
Defense Minister Ljuben Paunovski to tout the
government's progress in prosecuting corrupt
This report was prepared by the Office of Russian and European Analysis. Comments and queries are
welcome and may be directed to th, Manager, OREA
CL BY:
CL REASON: 1.4(d)
DECL ON: 20320110
DRV FROM: FOR C-06
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officials regardless of party affiliation. Paunovski
served as Defense Minister during 2000-01 in the
then Internal Macedonian Revolutionary
Organization-Democratic Party for Macedonian
National Unity (VMRO-DPMNE) government and
left office amid allegations of corruption. According
to press reports, Paunovski was sentenced last week
to three years in p= on charges of embezzlement
and abuse of offic ring his tenure as defense
minister.
�
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repeatedly warned Macedonian (b)(3)
officials that the government must successfully
prosecute several high-level corruption cases by
mid-2007 in order to improve Macedonia's bid for a
NATO invitation by 2008 (b)(3)
� Gruevski has publicly stated that there will be zero
tolerance for corruption and made eliminating
corruption a central point of his campaign during
the leeislative election in 2006
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