Simecka's Mother Misused Public Funds from Subsidies, Says Fico

Bratislava, 20 September (TASR) - The opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) leader Michal Simecka's mother is alleged to have misused public funds from subsidies in the period between 2020 and 2023, Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) told a press conference on Saturday. According to him, the international event Central European Forum organised by civil association Project Forum, with Simecka’s mother Marta Simeckova acting as its statutory representative, was only one of many projects with alleged fraudulent conduct. He explained that, based on cross-referencing the data, the Project Forum association applied for funding for the same project from three different entities – the Slovak Arts Support Council (FPU), the Ministry of Culture, and the Ministry of Justice – for a total of €130,000. According to Fico, Simeckova had provided misleading information in affidavits concerning the receipt of public funds, as well as in reporting the expenditure, causing double and even triple reimbursement of invoices. "In my view, this is subsidy fraud as plain as day," said Fico. He added that would not be submitting a criminal complaint himself, as his press conference was, in a way, such a submission. "We will want the money back, I will call on the relevant ministries to recover the funds," he stressed, also suggesting that most of the funds received from subsidies went to the civil association's representatives as their income. Furthermore, using the published invoices, he pointed to the links with entities controlled by Progressive Slovakia's representatives. Fico expects to be criticised for staging an attack on the family of a political opponent, but he denied this was his intention. "What I am attacking now is the fraudulent behaviour of his family," he remarked. Also attending the press conference were Justice Minister Boris Susko (Smer-SD) and Culture Ministry State Secretary Tibor Bernatak who supported Fico's claims, urging the media to refrain from covering up the issue. Susko even called on the PS leader to take political responsibility. jrg