With 15 days until the expiration of the six-month deadline for the investigation into the state Lottery corruption scandal, there are still more open questions than answers regarding the case of former Deputy Prime Minister Artan Grubi.

On August 23, six months will have passed since his arrest at the Blace border crossing, when Grubi was placed under house arrest. The Public Prosecutor’s Office does not disclose whether Grubi has been questioned as a suspect in the meantime. They only gave a brief response that the public will be notified after the public prosecutor’s decision is made, without confirming whether the questioning has been conducted.

An even shorter response came from the defense of the former Deputy Prime Minister. Republika contacted Grubi’s lawyer, Vladimir Donevski, who, after being informed that we were requesting a statement regarding the case and the expiration of the deadline for the investigation, briefly replied:

“I am on vacation”. We did not receive any additional comments.

According to the law on criminal procedures, the investigation lasts six months, but the deadline can be extended if it is a complex case. However, if no indictment is filed by the end of the initial deadline, the suspects cannot remain in custody on the basis of the investigation. In Grubi’s case, this would mean that if no indictment is filed by August 23, the terms of his house arrest will end and he will be free to move around.

Grubi is suspected of abuse of office in a case related to the State Lottery. Perparim Bajrami is also a suspect in the same case, and the investigation concerns the purchase of VLT devices, which the Prosecution suspects caused damage of around 500 million denars, or more than eight million euros.