Police Chief Insists Corruption Still Investigated Effectively in Slovakia

Bratislava, 10 February (TASR) – Police Corps President Jana Maskarova insists that the police are investigating corruption and other economic crimes in a no less effective manner. To this end, Maskarova presented police data at a press conference on Tuesday, adding that operational and intelligence activities became even more effective last year. Maskarova also rejected claims that such crimes are being handled by inexperienced investigators. She underlined that police effectiveness is demonstrated not only by the volume of criminal intelligence obtained, but also by other indicators. "Our objectives remain unchanged: to uncover and investigate regardless of the status of those involved, with a real emphasis on finances and the protection of public funds, whether national or those of the European Union," said the Police Corps president. During the press conference, she presented a range of data which, she said, support these claims. She referred to the numbers of people charged with corruption offences and other crimes, as well as to the number of such cases solved. Maskarova admitted that in 2025, when compared with 2023, the period before the reorganisation of the police, a slight decline in the number of solved cases was recorded. She added that the police force isn't concealing this decline, but said that it was caused precisely by the reorganisation, under which the National Crime Agency was abolished and the Office for Combating Organised Crime was established. "Almost all operations carried out by the Office for Combating Organised Crime in 2025, except one, were based on its own operational activities; that is, on its own findings, not on findings from investigative information or from the public, as was the case in the past," Maskarova also argued. The police chief declared that corruption cases are being handled by investigators with an average of 15 years of experience. She rejected claims that cases are being investigated by young and inexperienced officers. Last week, Prosecutor-General Maros Zilinka presented data showing that the rate of corruption prosecutions in Slovakia decreased significantly after the police reorganisation and changes to the Criminal Code. mf/df