Opposition Welcomes Launch of Criminal Proceedings in Voderady Case

Bratislava, 15 January (TASR) - Several opposition parties have welcomed the launch of criminal proceedings concerning the felony of a breach of obligations in the management of entrusted property with respect to the purchase of the Voderady outlet, TASR reported on Thursday. Prosecutor-General Maros Zilinka announced earlier during the day that the proceedings were initiated by a prosecutor of the serious crime department at the Prosecutor-General's Office. Opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) Vice-chair Michal Truban said that this was very good news, as there are reasonable suspicions of criminal offences and that taxpayers' money has been handled inefficiently in this case. In this affair, recalled Truban, the National Innovation and Technology Centre (NITC) association purchased the abandoned Voderady outlet for nearly €17 million from the state budget. A previous attempt to sell the outlet in public auctions failed even at amounts not even reaching €5 million. "I'm very pleased that our pressure and opposition work were worth it, but this is far from over. Now we'll push to ensure that as much of this amount as possible is returned to the state and that no further millions of euros are sent to this association," stressed Truban, adding that further steps will follow. "We plan a parliamentary inquiry at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister itself, we'll have those responsible appear before the parliamentary committee for economic affairs, and we'll continue to watch closely to make sure that such a waste of money doesn't happen again," added Truban. Opposition MP Veronika Remisova ('Slovakia'-'For the People' caucus) expressed appreciation for the fact that the prosecution service has started acting in the case, partly based on her initiative. "What the government of [Prime Minister] Robert Fico (Smer-SD) and the Voice-SD party were doing in the sale of the Voderady park to the state smelled right from the start like a textbook deal for the chosen ones," said Remisova, adding that "today, it's no longer just a political disgrace, as a prosecutor has launched criminal proceedings for the felony of a breach of obligations in the management of entrusted property, because the state allegedly paid more than double the price recorded in the accounts". At the same time, Remisova again urged that all expert opinions, contracts and documents related to this transaction should be published. jrg/df