'Slovakia' Blasts Voice-SD for Underreporting 2024 Loan from Pellegrini's Sister

Bratislava, 15 July (TASR) – The opposition's 'Slovakia' party has criticized Voice-SD for failing to disclose a loan it received back in 2024. Representatives of the party claim that Voice-SD accepted a €300,000 loan from a company owned by the President’s sister, Eva Pellegrini, at an interest rate of 5.5 percent. The sum was then immediately donated to the presidential campaign of the current head of state, Peter Pellegrini. 'Slovakia' accused Voice-SD of not publishing this information on its website, as required by law, and announced it would file a complaint with the State Election Commission. Voice-SD responded that it had updated its website with the loan details “immediately after internal checks revealed that this obligation had not been met.” According to 'Slovakia', the loan was not reported as required by law. „The law states that every loan must be published on the political party’s website within 30 days of the contract being signed. So, if the agreement was made in January 2024, Voice should have disclosed that the president’s sister loaned €300,000 to the party by February 2024. That didn’t happen,” said MP Julius Jakab at a press conference on Monday (14 July), citing a report from Aktuality.sk news website indicating that Voice-SD published the information only recently. Voice-SD told TASR that the funds from the loan were used lawfully and donated to the presidential candidate’s transparent campaign account with the approval of the party’s relevant authorities. „The presidential candidate managed the campaign's account independently, in accordance with the law,” the party’s press department stated. The loan from Element Business was reportedly repaid in full in 2024 using donations and party membership fees. 'Slovakia' noted that the party also lacks transparency in donor reporting. „If you look at the list of donors, whether in the annual report or on Voice's website, the total amount of received donations is around €470,000. However, the financial statement acknowledges only €417,000 in donations,” said Igor Dusenka, a member of the State Commission for Elections and the Control of Political Party Financing, representing the coalition 'Slovakia'-Christian Union-For the People. He claimed that Voice-SD failed to account for all donations in its financial report and said the 'Slovakia' party plans to file another complaint to investigate the matter. Voice-SD explained that the discrepancy between the declared donations and the financial report figures is due to donations received in 2024 based on contracts signed in 2023. „The difference in sums is explained by differing legal frameworks and reporting rules, but the final amounts are in line with the law and reality,” the party responded. It added that its 2024 annual report was reviewed by the State Election Commission and found to be in compliance. „We see no reason to make changes,” the party concluded. According to Voice-SD's 2024 annual report published on the website of the Interior Ministry, the party recorded one loan from Element Business in the amount of €300,000. The loan was received on 26 January 2024, and repaid on 8 October 2024. The company is managed by Eva Pellegrini. mf