The Strumica Police Department (SVR Strumica) filed criminal charges with the Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office in Strumica against S.R. (38) and S.O. (61), both from Strumica, on suspicion that they committed the criminal offense of “abuse of official position and authority” under Article 353, Paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code.
The first suspect, S.R., in her capacity as Head of the Department for Urban Planning, Communal Affairs and Construction Land at the Municipality of Strumica, exceeded the limits of her official authority by issuing a permit for the extension of a residential building for which the municipal construction inspection had previously issued a decision ordering its removal. She also signed the permit in the section designated for the Mayor. The permit was issued without informing herself or requesting official data and documentation regarding the building in question, particularly concerning any irregularities previously identified by the municipal construction inspection.
The second suspect, S.O., acting as an authorized construction inspector at the Municipality of Strumica, failed to act in accordance with the Construction Law. After being presented with the issued extension permit, she did not submit a proposal for its annulment, despite being obliged to verify whether the permit had been lawfully issued and, if she determined that it was disputed, to submit a written proposal for annulment to the authority that issued it, namely the Urban Planning Department of the Municipality of Strumica.
Instead, during a follow-up inspection, she concluded that there were no longer any irregularities, terminated the procedure, and annulled the previously issued decision ordering the removal of the illegally constructed extension.
Through these actions, the suspects enabled the extension to be legalized, thereby allowing the investor company to obtain unlawful financial gain through the sale of the illegally extended residential areas.