The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), together with Macedonian Nova TV and the Czech Center for Investigative Journalism published an investigative piece [1] about the amassed wealth of the head of Macedonian Secret Service Sasho Mijalkov, who also happens to be a first cousin to the current Prime Minister of Macedonia. Among other things, the article cites:
Mijalkov belongs to a small clique of men who run Macedonia – men that include his cousin and best man. Meanwhile, under his leadership, his agency has been criticized for dodging oversight, failing to meet European Union standards and for intruding in places it should not.
This career government official owns number of businesses and properties in Macedonia and Czech Republic, where his father Jordan Mijalkov (1933-1991) hеld the position of manager of a foreign trade company during socialist Yugoslavia.
The Mijalkov-Gruevski political dynasty has held power during much of Macedonia's transition. Jordan Mijalkov was the first Minister of Interior after the country gained independence, until his death in car crash. His sister's son Nikola Gruevski [2] was Minister of Finance (1999-2002) and Prime Minister (2006-2014). The son, Sasho Mijalkov, who is seen as the grey eminence [3] behind the family “throne”, served in Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito's [4] Honor Guard alongside his brother as military policemen [5] [mk], and has held high positions in the ministries of Defense and Interior of Macedonia since 1998. He was a protagonist in a recent story [6] covered by Global Voices, regarding the use of a defamation lawsuit as a means of punishment and intimidation against independent media.