2nd February 2026, Skopje - By establishing the National Council on Financial Investigations and Asset Confiscation, a central and coordinated mechanism is put in place in Macedonia, aimed at strengthening the fight against financial crime, money laundering and illicit acquisition of assets.
At today’s constitutive session, Minister of Finance, Gordana Dimitrieska-Kochoska, emphasized that the establishment of the Council marks a substantive shift from purely declarative policies towards a systemic approach based on clear accountability, institutional coordination and tangible results.
“Financial investigations and confiscation of illegally acquired assets are not only matters of security and justice, but are also instrumental to fiscal stability, the integrity of the financial system, and the citizens’ confidence in institutions,” Minister Dimitrieska-Kochoska highlighted.
Ministry of Finance, highlighted by the Minister as the leading institution in this process, has multilayered competencies over the institutions it oversees – including the Financial Police Office, the Customs Administration, and the system for prevention of money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
Within the 2025-2028 National Strategy for Financial Investigations and Confiscation of Assets, the Ministry is undertaking specific, measurable and substantive activities aimed at improving the system’s efficiency.
The legal framework directly supporting the efficiency of financial investigations has been strengthened for that particular purpose. The new Law on Customs Administration provides for laying a well-defined and more efficient foundation for accessing relevant data and monitoring financial flows and flows of goods related to criminal activities. At the same time, by improving the legal framework of the Financial Police Office, its role in leading financial investigations, confiscating illegally acquired assets, and ensuring professional development of its staff, has been strengthened.
Particular focus was placed on the results achieved during the past period.
“In 2025, the Financial Police Office initiated 58 financial investigations covering around 400 individuals and 95 legal entities, whereby 33 investigations were completed, while the remaining are still in progress. Under the Law on Confiscation of Assets in Civil Proceedings, based on initiatives filed by the public prosecutor’s offices, courts have issued protective measures concerning assets with an estimated value exceeding Denar 38 million,” the Minister said, recalling that only nine financial investigations were carried out in 2022, seventeen in 2023, with ten investigations being performed in 2024.
The Minister underscored that the data clearly demonstrate that financial investigations translate into actual confiscation outcomes and the protection of the public interest, extending beyond formal proceedings.
At the same time, as Dimitrieska-Kochoska said, investments are being made to strengthen institutional capacities through systemic personnel capacity building, phased technical equipping and digitalization of specialized units, with a key focus on establishing full interoperability and electronic data exchange among institutions, as a prerequisite for timely and successful financial investigations. Activities on the domestic front are complemented by the strengthened international cooperation with the European Union agencies and the relevant international networks, including Europol, CEPOL, EUROJUST, and OLAF, with the aim of exchanging information, experience, and good practices.
“The establishment of the National Council is a clear signal that the country is putting in place a mechanism to ensure ongoing monitoring, coordination, and political support in implementing the Strategy. As Ministry of Finance, we are committed to ensuring that the Council operates actively, efficiently, by focusing on delivering tangible results,” Minister Dimitrieska-Kochoska conveyed.
She concluded that the ultimate objective is creating a system, by which illegally acquired assets are identified, confiscated and reintegrated for the benefit of society, sending a clear message that crime will no longer pay off.
