Prosecutors have filed an indictment against Appellate Court Judge Gjoko Ristov for 350,000 euros found hidden in a wall. The key evidence: DNA traces on the aluminum foil wrapping the cash. The biological traces, the prosecution argues, prove Ristov personally concealed the funds.

Ristov previously claimed the money belonged to his parents, who allegedly sold land for 400,000 euros. Simple arithmetic raises questions: 350,000 euros in a wall, parents who sold for 400,000 - yet the DNA on the foil belongs to the judge, not the parents.

The case matters beyond the sum. An appellate judge - a person who rules on appeals, who reviews the decisions of others - accused of hiding cash in a wall. If the people who safeguard the justice system break its rules, who will trust the verdicts?

The DNA evidence is strong, but the court must decide if it is sufficient. In Macedonia, cases against judges are rare - and even more rarely end in conviction. Ristov will get his trial. The question is whether justice will be equally rigorous when judging its own.