AKI Rejects Remisova's Claims of Being Set Up for Subsidy or Political Reasons

Bratislava, 14 November (TASR) - The Critical Infrastructure Association (AKI) has rejected statements by opposition MP Veronika Remisova ('Slovakia'-'For the People' caucus) that AKI was set up for the purpose of obtaining a subsidy or for political reasons, describing her claims as misleading, incorrect and damaging of its reputation, TASR reported on Friday. If Remisova fails to correct her statements, the association will file a criminal complaint on grounds of defamation. No subsidy call existed when AKI was set up at the beginning of this year, which renders her allegations unfounded, stated the association. As a non-profit organisation without any business purposes, AKI has no shareholders and doesn't pay out any profits, as it operates solely from membership fees. "All resources go towards expert activities aimed at strengthening the security and resilience of the state," stated AKI, adding that the subsidy questioned by Remisova is intended for scientific and research activities, such as open-source analysis, artificial intelligence, cryptography and the development of security methodologies for critical entities. All these activities are subject to the control mechanisms of the state, and it isn't true that funds have been used for the salaries of teachers or police officers. "AKI addresses real incidents and problems concerning critical infrastructure, which Slovakia has faced several times in the past, from land-registry outages to incidents in the automotive industry and analyses of major electricity outages in Europe. These are areas that require expert handling, not politicking," added the association. jrg/df