Macedonian Interior Ministry said on Monday it had issued a national arrest warrant for former Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski due to his failure to appear in jail to serve a two-year sentence for illegal purchase of a luxury car while serving as the head of the government in 2012, the Beta news agency reported.

He was convicted of unlawfully buying an armoured “Mercedes S 600 Guard” in 2012, worth some €600,000.

Gruevski, 48, had his passport confiscated in 2017, as a precautionary measure to secure his appearance before a court related to another crime.

According to charges, Gruevski ordered the then Interior Minister Gordana Jankulovska to buy the car for her Ministry, while it was meant for Gruevski’s exclusive use, and to prevent the public from learning about it.

It became public after the opposition came into possession of tapes containing Gruevski’s phone conversations.

Jankulovska was sentenced to six years in prison in the first instance.

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