UIS: 'Operation Cooperating Defendant' Culmination of Years of Work

Bratislava, 17 March (TASR) – 'Operation Cooperating Defendant' in March marked the culmination of years of work by the Internal Affairs Inspectorate (UIS), with the case concerning suspicions of the misuse of criminal law tools, said UIS Veritas specialised team leader Juraj Lukac at a press conference on Tuesday. According to Lukac, the indictment resolution is 133 pages long and "full of facts and linked evidence". The case file currently totals approximately 23,000 pages in the ongoing criminal proceedings. Lukac emphasised that the specialised team doesn't act based on political statements or media commentary. All those being prosecuted have worked on high-profile corruption cases in the past. "Several individuals have testified about suspected criminal activity by members of the former National Criminal Agency [NAKA] in various proceedings since at least 2020. In 2021, the currently co-accused J. K. [name abbreviated due to legal reasons] began testifying about these facts," said Lukac. He added that the Veritas team was set up in response to dozens of criminal complaints and submissions pointing to possible unlawful procedures in multiple criminal cases. "The detention operation codenamed Cooperating Defendant was the culmination of years of work by UIS investigators, operatives and analysts," he underlined. Lukac said that at this stage it's possible to speak of suspicions of evidence manipulation and irregularities in the course of evidence-taking in several criminal proceedings. "The investigation is based on concrete facts and documentary evidence, in particular identified differences in the content of certain procedural documents, inconsistencies between various versions of documents, as well as the circumstances of their creation," he added. Lukac emphasised that the detention operation was planned and carried out with regard to the dignity of those detained and with respect for their families. Deputy director of UIS and head of its inspection unit Milan Maskara rejected several claims made in recent days about UIS and the Veritas team. He dismissed criticism alleging unlawful conduct by the inspectorate and denied that UIS deals only with cases involving members of the former National Criminal Agency. "UIS doesn't have bloodshot eyes," he said. At the beginning of March, UIS detained and charged several current and former police officers, as well as a prosecutor of the Prosecutor-General's Office, Michal S., as part of Operation Cooperating Defendant. The charges include extortion and misuse of power by a public official, allegedly committed in an organised manner. In addition to those charged, two suspects were also detained. The operation took place in Bratislava, Nitra and Banska Bystrica regions. A prosecutor of the Regional Prosecutor's Office in Trnava filed a motion to remand the accused Jan C. and Pavol D. in custody, but the courts ruled that they would be prosecuted at liberty, stating among other things that the motion had been filed with a court lacking jurisdiction and also that the charges lacked justification. Pavol D. denied that the accused have committed any criminal activity and underlined that all of their actions were lawful and part of their job. On Tuesday, Prosecutor-General Maros Zilinka decided that the case will be reassigned to the Regional Prosecutor's Office in Banska Bystrica. mf/df