First FBI Cyber Operation With North Macedonia: How the “OLVX” Stolen-Data Marketplace Ended in a Criminal Complaint Against a 20-Year-Old From the Tetovo Area
On October 14 the Interior Ministry said it filed a criminal complaint against a 20-year-old from the Tetovo area, suspected of running the illegal “OLVX” marketplace; the FBI called it the first cyber operation coordinated with North Macedonia.
The Interior Ministry’s Sector for Computer Crime and Digital Forensics said on October 14 that it filed a criminal complaint with the Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office in Tetovo against a 20-year-old man from the Tetovo area (initials E.A.), suspected of computer fraud, misuse of personal data and production and distribution of child pornography. According to the Ministry, the case came from information provided by the FBI and a joint, coordinated investigation into the illegal “OLVX” marketplace. These are suspicions, and the presumption of innocence applies to the suspect.
On the same day the FBI congratulated the Ministry’s Cybercrime Unit on social media for the arrest of the OLVX administrator. According to the FBI, the marketplace was active from 2023 to 2025, sold personal data and access to user accounts, had more than 1,500 seller profiles and “directly endangered the digital security of thousands of American citizens.” The FBI called the action the first cyber operation coordinated with North Macedonia.
The operation itself dates from April. Police then said the marketplace had operated since July 2023, with more than 2,600 registered users and more than 1,500 sellers, and sales exceeded $500,000, according to the Council of Europe. A house in the Tetovo area was searched under a warrant from the Basic Court in Tetovo, and devices were seized for forensic analysis. Reports at the time spoke of two people detained, and the articles we checked do not explain the status of the other person. There is no court outcome yet: for now it is a criminal complaint.
MKNews Hub · Macedonia · October 15, 2026
