Trial of Patrik P., Infamous in Non-Bank Lenders' Case, Adjourned until May

Bratislava, 23 February (TASR) - The main trial of Patrik P. [name abbreviated due to legal reasons], who is infamous in connection with the scandal surrounding non-banking institutions Horizont Slovakia and BMG Invest, didn't take place at Bratislava I City Court on Monday due to the absence of a senate member, and the next hearing has been scheduled for 25 May, TASR reported on Monday. According to ten counts of the indictment filed in 2018, Patrik P. allegedly lured funds totalling just under €960,000 from victims between 2010 and 2013, promising to pay them monthly returns. Subsequently, he reportedly failed to generate the returns as promised or used the funds to pay other people, causing damages of more than €840,000 to the aggrieved. Along with David Brtva and late businessman Jozef Majsky, Patrik P. was one of the key figures responsible for fraud in connection with the notorious bankruptcy of non-banking companies Horizont Slovakia and BMG Invest in the early 2000s, creating fictitious receivables against the companies. Patrik P. was found guilty by the Specialised Criminal Court and sentenced to seven years in prison by the Supreme Court in March 2018. As he had previously spent almost five years in custody, he began serving the remainder of his sentence in July 2018. Non-banking institutions Horizont Slovakia and BMG Invest extracted €2 billion from hundreds of thousands of Slovaks in the late 1990s and early 2000s, promising them fabulous returns on their deposits. In 2000, then finance minister Brigita Schmoegnerova warned the public that non-banking institutions weren't under any supervision by the financial authorities, meaning that it was "extremely risky" to entrust them with any money. Both institutions announced sudden bankruptcy in 2002, and many people lost their life savings as a result. jrg/df