Penta Co-owner Hascak to Seek Apology from State or Compensation for Damages

Bratislava, January 11 (TASR) - Co-owner of Penta financial group Jaroslav Hascak will claim an apology or compensation for damages from the state over the unlawful charges pressed against him and his subsequent custody in 2020, TASR was told by Hascak's attorney Peter Kubina on Tuesday. "As the Supreme Court confirmed, our client had been charged and prosecuted in custody unlawfully," stated Kubina. The attorney added that the law enforcement hasn't submitted a single piece of evidence to prove that former head of Slovak Intelligence Service (SIS) counter-intelligence Lubomir Arpas leaked the Gorilla file recordings or any other materials to Hascak. Kubina also finds the decision to take Hascak into collusion custody as absolutely unjustified. According to Kubina, a proposal will be sent in the following weeks to the Justice Ministry and the Prosecutor-General's Office, calling on them to extend apology to Hascak. If the given institutions apologise, there will be no lawsuit to seek compensation for damages. The Prosecutor-General's Office stated in response that it won't address the issue via the media. The Justice Ministry hasn't yet provided a statement. In August 2021, the Prosecutor-General's Office scrapped charges against Hascak and Arpas, related to the Gorilla file. mf/mcs