Stefan Bogoev, former director of the Customs Administration and one-time mayor of Karpoš, has been released from detention. The criminal panel of the Skopje Basic Criminal Court granted his appeal and accepted the offered bail of 55,000 euros in denar equivalent - five days after a pre-trial judge had ordered him 30 days of detention.

Freedom, however, comes with conditions: his travel documents have been temporarily seized, he is banned from crossing the state border, and the court expressly warned that any violation will bring stricter measures. The money is deposited in favor of the state as a guarantee that the suspect will appear in the proceedings.

A reminder of what he's charged with: according to the criminal complaint filed by the Financial Police with the Prosecution for Organized Crime, Bogoev is one of four suspects - alongside a deputy director, a company manager and an employee - for abuse of public procurement procedures, bribery and illegal influence in the period from July 2023 to March 2024. Specifically: favoritism in contracts for maintaining hygiene at border crossings, with an illegal gain of 18,479,692 denars - around 300,000 euros in tender value. On top of that, he is suspected of having requested and received a bribe of 1,800 euros in the period May 2024 - February 2025.

The arithmetic of the case is what stings: an indictment for millions in damage in denars - and freedom for 55,000 euros in cash. Bail, formally, is neither a verdict of guilt nor an acquittal; it merely replaces detention. But the citizen reading this rightly asks: how many ordinary people can pull out 55,000 euros „in denar equivalent" in five days?

The proceedings continue, and Bogoev will defend himself from freedom. The question left open for the prosecution: was hygiene at the border crossings the only tender with „favorites" - or just the first one to come to light?