Macedonia Files Embezzlement Charges Against MakTel’s Former CEO - Media

Attila Sendrei served as CEO in Makedonski Telekom from 2002 to 2007.

In 2005 and 2006, the four suspects signed five fictitious contracts with a Cyprus-based consulting company, embezzling a total of 3.975 million euro, Dnevnik  said, quoting the Macedonian Interior Ministry.

That has caused damage to Makedonski Telekom’s shareholders and the Macedonian government, which in that period was owner of 47% of MakTel, it said.

Th Macedonian police will issue an international warrant for the four suspects, after getting a court order, the daily said.

Makedonski Telekom, formerly knows as Makedonski Telekomunikacii, is majority-owned by Hungary's Magyar Telekom via its fully-owned subsidiary Stonebridge Communications. The Macedonian government now owns a 34.8% stake in Telekom.

The financial scandal emerged at the end of 2005 in Magyar Telekom and the company launched an internal investigation. Magyar Telekom later said that the probe had found evidence of irregularities in its Macedonian unit, in six contracts with a combined worth of more than 6.7 million euro ($8.8 million).

Magyar Telekom is a subsidiary of Germany's Deutsche Telekom.

($ = 0.759 euro)