MACEDONIA-EUROVISION/VOTE RIGGING Macedonian police bust Eurovision vote rigging ring

Record ID: 328374

  • Title: MACEDONIA-EUROVISION/VOTE RIGGING Macedonian police bust Eurovision vote rigging ring
  • Date: 14th November 2014
  • Summary: SKOPJE, MACEDONIA (NOVEMBER 13, 2014) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Macedonian) MACEDONIAN POLICE SPOKESMAN, IVO KOTEVSKI, SAYING: "It has been established that people organised and co-ordinated action using mobile phone cards and phone devices during the Eurovision vote to send a huge number of text messages in order to secure the winning of three songs at the Skopje Music Festival." SKOPJE, MACEDONIA (NOVEMBER 14, 2014) (REUTERS) WARRIOR ON HORSE MONUMENT IN MAIN SQUARE MACEDONIAN FLAG ON MAST MAN WALKING BY NEWS-STAND MACEDONIAN DAILY NEWSPAPERS DISPLAYED ON STAND FRONT PAGE OF MACEDONIAN DAILY NEWSPAPER "VECER" WITH HEADLINE READING (Macedonian): "Scandal over Eurovision contest for Macedonian representative" FRONT PAGE OF MACEDONIAN DAILY NEWSPAPER "VEST" WITH HEADLINE READING (Macedonian): "Music mafia attempt to grab 35,000 euros of festival prize money" PEOPLE WALKING
  • Embargoed: 29th November 2014 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAB7LGXMSCONP78213NPH0F25H8
  • Story Text: Police in Macedonia on Thursday (November 13) arrested four people suspected of trying to manipulate votes and steal money at the national selection stage for the Eurovision song contest.
    Immediately after the winner of the Skopje Music Festival - an event organised to select Macedonia's Eurovision representative - was announced, local police raided two apartments in the capital where they found 14 teenagers with more than a dozen mobile phones and 2,000 SIM cards.
    Police said the mobiles and SIM cards were used in attempts to rig the public voting process of the festival.
    Ivo Kotevski, a Macedonian police spoeksman, told reporters that the authorities had received information before the festival of plans by an organised group to manipulate the vote for the first three places and take 45,000 euros of prize money.
    "It has been established that people organised and co-ordinated action using mobile phone cards and phone devices during the Eurovision vote to send a huge number of text messages in order to secure the winning of three songs at the Skopje Music Festival," said Kotevski.
    Four people - a songwriter, a composer, an owner of a music label and one of the owners of the company organising the vote - were brought in for questioning.
    The suspected ringleaders could be charged for criminal association and computer fraud.
    The police said they suspect that more people were involved in the operation, and that even some of the festival's contestants could be involved in the scam. However, no one else has been called in.
    The Skopje Music Festival is a competition in which the Balkan country chooses its representative for the Eurovision song contest.
    Twenty songs were performed late on Wednesday (November 12), with local pop singer Daniel Kajmakovski taking the trophy.
    He is expected to represent Macedonia next year in the Eurovision song contest, which will be held in Vienna, Austria.
    It was unclear on Thursday whether the police raid would prompt a revision of the festival winner.
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