IESF Macedonia’s scandal: Where was the money from the city of Iasi spent?
IMPORTANT: The text below is fully based on Reporteris own investigated and only contains personal commentary on specific pieces of it. This is also a personal view of the author, in any way not associated and not representing the views of his employer.
Meanwhile, the Romanian portal Reporteris continues to expose and dismantle the already tarnished reputation of IESF and IESF Macedonia, specifically.
The journalists at Reporteris have obtained materials that shed light on the dubious financial activities of IESF’s Macedonian office. Former financial manager Jeff Bae, from IESF’s South Korean headquarters, provided crucial information that prompted an investigation by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) of South Korea, which funds IESF. The investigation focuses on the $750,000 “license fee” that mysteriously ended up in IESF Macedonia instead of Korea, a company effectively controlled by IESF President Vlad Marinescu. As a result of the investigation, MCST has suspended all payments to IESF in Korea, jeopardizing the annual $300,000 funding tranche.
Without delving into the intricate details of how the funds from the city of Iasi ended up in the hands of IESF Macedonia (which has already been extensively covered), it appears that there were issues with using this money as well. According to Jeff Bae, in December 2022, he received a request from Boban Totovski to transfer funds from the Korean head office to the Macedonian branch, citing a shortage of funds. Responding to this request, Jeff transferred $30,000 to Skopje. However, the bank subsequently contacted him, informing him that the transfer had been flagged by the Financial Supervision Service (FSS) and required further justification. It was then revealed that the FSS had become aware of the money being transferred directly and unlawfully from Romania to Macedonia, specifically referring to the “license payment” from the mayor’s office of Iasi.
To shed light on the perplexing circumstances, let’s revisit the timeline of events:
🕐 In early 2022, a subsidiary of IESF was established in Macedonia.
🕜 During the spring of 2022, the City Hall of Iasi made a payment of $500,000, representing 50% of the license fee, to the bank account of this Macedonian branch.
🕥 By December of the same year, Totovski reached out to the head office, urgently requesting a transfer of $30,000 to cover immediate expenses due to a depleted budget.
While refraining from revisiting the peculiar scheme through which the funds were redirected to the Macedonian branch instead of the main office in South Korea, another crucial question arises: What happened to the $500,000? Jeff Bae raised this inquiry with Totovski, who claimed that they actually received $450,000. Supposedly, the remaining $50,000 was a 10% commission paid to Adrian Socaciu, a so-called member of the IESF presidential council, for his involvement in negotiating the allocation of funds for the 2023 World Championship with the government of Iasi. It is worth noting that Socaciu has direct connections to both Vlad Marinescu, the president of the federation, and other local officials and politicians in Romania.
However, Boban Totovski confirmed that the entire $500,000 has already been spent. He stated that $100,000 was used for flights, influencers, VIP guests, additional staff who traveled to Bali for the 2022 IESF World Championships, and various VAT taxes.
✍️ Upon realizing that something was amiss, I became suspicious. All $500,000 had been utilized, a commission had been paid to an unknown individual, and an additional $100,000 was allocated for inviting influencers, extra staff, and unspecified VIP guests. We have not received any contract or details regarding Adrian’s activities in Macedonia, the recipient of the commission. Nonetheless, I have made efforts to find solutions to address this issue. I also emphasized to Totovski that confirmation from President Vlad Marinescu should be included in the document that we need to submit to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) and the Financial Supervision Service (SFN), as mentioned by Jeff Bae.
Naturally, both the IESF headquarters and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, which oversees the organization, were displeased with the lack of transparency and concealment of significant expenses. Jeff insisted on receiving proper documentation and eventually obtained some initial papers from Totovski. However, these documents had several areas of concern: the salary amounts of employees were not indicated, and there were unclear expenses listed. When Jeff raised this issue, Totovski claimed that it was illegal to provide salary information. However, this response did not satisfy the Ministry, which initiated its own investigation and discovered that there were no laws in Macedonia prohibiting the disclosure of such data. The representatives of the Ministry were furious to receive false information and deception.
Totovski raised the stakes. He took matters into his own hands and declared that he would henceforth communicate directly and exclusively through a law firm hired separately. Eventually, Jeff did receive a revised version of the documents, but they still raised concerns. The following revelations were made:
🔸 Some staff members were not officially employed and were paid in cash, with the exact amount spent unknown.
🔸 Two iPhones were purchased, one for shooting content in Bali and another for personal use by an employee.
🔸 Boban Totovski’s company car, believed to be on a long-term lease, was actually purchased and owned by a private company ESDC.
🔸 Totovski transferred $43,000 from the funds received from the city of Iasi to his personal bank account.
🔸 $307,000 out of the $750,000 paid as a license fee by the city of Iasi was transferred to the account of the private company ESDC, which had no contract with the Macedonian branch of IESF.
🔸 The entire transaction was facilitated by the company “Arhitectura & Design Socaciu SRL,” owned by Adrian Socaciu, who later received approximately €48,000 in commissions.
Additionally, it was discovered that Socaciu became a member of the “Presidential Council of IESF” in April and received €48,000 from the Macedonian subsidiary company in May. When asked about these payments, Socaciu provided a vague response, mentioning confidential contracts but failing to provide further details or follow up as promised. IESF President Vlad Marinescu and Boban Totovski did not respond to inquiries from Reporteris. Jeff Bae, who had been raising uncomfortable questions for Marinescu and Totovski, was subsequently terminated from his positions as financial manager and communications manager at IESF.
Consequently, the destination of the funds received by IESF Macedonia from the Iași City Hall remains uncertain. The financial situation of the main office in Korea is also precarious.
✍️ Now the IESF has run out of money. Only 20–30,000 USD left, both in Korea and Macedonia. And the prospects look grim. MCST has frozen the funds, the last installment of $250,000 from Iași is under question. There are real concerns among employees in South Korea and those in North Macedonia that they will no longer receive their wages.
IMPORTANT: The text above is fully based on Reporteris own investigated and only contains personal commentary on specific pieces of it. This is also a personal view of the author, in any way not associated and not representing the views of his employer.
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