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Former head of tax administration arrested

Charges pressed against influential businessman Jozef Brhel too.

The former head of the tax administration in Slovakia was arrested early morning on Friday, January 29, Denník N reported.

František Imrecze served as the head of the Financial Administration as the nominee of the previous Smer government. He was the direct subordinate of the former finance minister, now head of the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS), Peter Kažimír. He resigned from his post in September 2018. His resignation followed suspicions of customs fraud worth hundreds of millions of euros.

During the Toll Collector action, NAKA also detained eight more persons.

Jozef Brhel, who Denník N describes as the oligarch in the background of Smer and one of the most influential persons in the energy business, is facing charges as well.

More influential people detained

Entrepreneurs Brhel and Michal Suchoba were to be detained too, but they are both abroad, JOJ tv channel reported. Jozef Brhel is reportedly on an island in the Atlantic, while Suchoba is allegedly in Abu Dhabí.

NAKA will very likely request international cooperation to find the two men, JOJ reported.

The Toll Collector case involves criminality linked with machinations in public procurement and corruption, the police said.

„We will provide more information when the procedural situation allows,“ Police Corps spokesperson Michal Slivka said, as quoted by the Sme daily.

Among the detained persons is also the head of IT at the Financial Administration Milan Grega, according to JOJ.

The former deputy president under Imrecze at the Financial Administration, Daniel Čech, has been in custody on corruption charges since December, when he was detained during the Judas action.

Suspicions against Imrecze

Imrecze stepped down after the media reported on suspicions of a major customs fraud.

Under his tenure, the Financial Administration halted the investigation of the VAT return for Ladislav Bašternák, BL-202. Bašternák has since been condemned for tax fraud and is serving a prison sentence. A former tax officer then claimed that the case was not properly investigated due to pressure from Imrecze and Čech, Sme daily wrote.

Imrecze also signed classified contracts for the supplies of sensitive applications, including for the virtual cash registry operation. Some of the classified orders went to the Allexis company, owned by Suchoba, who is a friend of Imrecze, Sme wrote.