Criminal Proceedings against Norbert B. Suspended Due to Changes in Penal Code

Bratislava, 9 January (TASR) - The Specialised Criminal Court has suspended criminal proceedings against defendant Norbert B. (name abbreviated due to legal reasons) in a bribery case, the defendant's lawyer Marek Para told TASR, adding that this was done due to changes in the Penal Code related to the assessment of testimony from cooperating defendants. It was 360tka website and SME daily that broke the news first. Para told TASR that he disagrees with the suspension and is requesting that the trial should continue. "We request that the proceedings should continue, as the indictment has clearly collapsed and the grounds for suspicion have ceased to exist. Therefore, we request that the proceedings should continue and that Norbert B. be acquitted of the charges," stated Para. According to the charges, Norbert B. arranged a bribe for Marian Kucerka, then an investigator of the National Crime Agency (NAKA), via former NAKA official Bernard Slobodnik. The aim was to help businessman Stefan Ziga, who was suspected of economic crime. Norbert B. denies the charges. Stefan Ziga was legally convicted of corruption in October 2025 and sentenced to a fine of €100,000. Kucerka was also legally convicted of accepting bribes. In his case, however, the courts have reopened proceedings concerning the sentence imposed. Norbert B. also faces charges in the Stock Farmer and Purgatory cases. am/df