North Macedonia’s Public Prosecutor’s Office said on February 4 that it has opened an ex officio case following media reports alleging that brain samples from deceased individuals in the country were transported to the United States for scientific research.

The move comes after documents linked to the Jeffrey Epstein case were cited in the media, raising suspicions about the possible processing, freezing and international transfer of human tissues originating from North Macedonia.

Prosecutors said the allegations warrant a detailed review, particularly with regard to compliance with legal and ethical standards governing research involving human tissues and biological samples.

Given the seriousness and complexity of the claims, the case has been referred to the Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office for the Prosecution of Organised Crime and Corruption.

That office has been tasked with collecting official information from relevant state authorities, institutions and healthcare facilities in order to establish whether there was any illegal handling of human tissues or biomaterials, or potential omissions or abuses in procedures related to permits and informed consent.

The allegations became public after documents released by the US Department of Justice were referenced in local media.

The documents relate to the late financier Jeffrey Epstein and include an email referring to a journalistic investigation alleging that Columbia University in the United States collected human brain samples from deceased individuals for scientific research, including studies on depression, suicide and schizophrenia, 360stepeni reported.

According to the article, American scientists established a human brain bank containing around 1,000 samples, including brains from individuals who had died by suicide as well as control samples. North Macedonia is mentioned as one of the countries that contributed samples through cooperation with a Columbia University researcher originally from the country.

The text states that brains were removed after death, immediately frozen, transported to the United States for research purposes, and properly labelled and archived.

Former director of North Macedonia’s Institute of Forensic Medicine and Criminalistics, Aleksej Duma, confirmed in a statement to local outlet 360stepeni that the project was carried out between the 1990s and early 2000s. However, he stressed that there was no financial gain involved.

Separately, Professor Gorazd Rosoklija of Columbia University, who is of Macedonian origin, stated in writing to TV Telma’s programme that the research project and the human tissue samples used were fully covered by all required ethical approvals and backed by written consent from the families.

Despite these statements, prosecutors said they will assess all available information to determine whether any criminal offences may have occurred and whether the handling and transfer of human tissues complied fully with domestic and international regulations.