Korruption in der Slowakei

Schon wieder ein Leitender Slowakischer Staatsanwalt wegen Korruption im „Bau“ !

Wenn das so weiter geht, gibt es bald keine Staatsanwälte mehr in der Slowakei

15 Jahre lang wurde EuroGas wegen ihrer Korruptions-Vorwürfe in der Slowakei und vor Gerichten beschimpft und belächelt.

Heute lacht EuroGas !

Special prosecutor resigns from post as pre-trial custody comes into effect

Kováčik faces charges in what investigators described as a major corruption scheme. Resignation is a logical step, President said.

Dušan Kováčik, the top prosecutor of the Special Prosecutor’s Office whose role is to prosecute serious crimes, including corruption, has given up his post.

He officially announced his resignation to the parliament on November 12, nearly three weeks after he was arrested on corruption charges and suspended as Special Prosecutor. Kováčik, who faces charges over his involvement with what the investigators described as an organised criminal group that also involved former top police officers, has been in pre-trial custody ever since his arrest.

„With regard to the fact that the ruling of the Specialised Criminal Court from October 25, sending me into pre-trial custody, has come into effect, I hereby resign from the post of Special Prosecutor according to the provisions of the law on prosecutors,“ Kováčik wrote in the letter as reported by the Deputy Speaker of Parliament Gábor Grendel (OĽaNO).

Replacement early next year

The parliament will now need to organise the election of a new special prosecutor. Grendel does not expect the vote to be linked to the vote on the new general prosecutor, expected to take place in the coming weeks.

Another Deputy Speaker of Parliament Juraj Šeliga of the Za Ľudí coalition party expects the parliament to be ready to vote on the new special prosecutor in January or February 2021.

Kováčik’s term was to elapse in 2021, although he did repeatedly suggest he might leave earlier and only acted on these words after he was arrested.

The special prosecutor is appointed and recalled by the parliament, for a regular term of seven years. The requirements for the post are: being a Slovak citizen, electable for parliament, at least 40 years old and with at least 15 years of experience in a legal profession, having passed a professional judicial exam. All those who had served as president of the republic, cabinet member, MP, MEP or mayor in the two years before the appointment are barred from running.

„A sweeper“

Kováčik has been in the office since 2004. In early 2017, the Denník N daily showed the scale of his practice by revealing that Kováčik has not submitted any criminal lawsuits in the 61 cases he has been supervising over the past eight years in the post, despite the fact that he chairs an important body that should be fighting corruption and other serious crimes.

„This gentleman was a sweeper, who swept 61 cases under the rug,“ Šeliga told the press.

The Let’s Stop Corruption Foundation noted that Kováčik not only halted or failed to have investigated some very sensitive cases, but also failed to explain where he got the €200,000 in cash that he brought to the bank three years ago.

Resignation was expected

Grendel commented on the resignation saying that it was „the most sensible thing“ Kováčik could do in a situation like this.

The first deputy general prosecutor Viera Kováčiková, who currently acts as the top prosecutor in the country, noted that she expected the resignation after charges were pressed against Kováčik.

President Zuzana Čaputová also deems it a logical step, „mainly due to the gravity of the charges he faces“.

Head of the Judicial Council Ján Mazák said that Kováčik harmed the reputation of the prosecution service in a hard-to-believe way and his resignation is much delayed.

„The delay makes it possible to comment on his resignation with only three words: Late, very late,“ Mazák said as quoted by the Sme daily.