Courts: All Defendants Acquitted in Bonaparte Apartment Complex Case

Bratislava, 20 March (TASR) - All three defendants in the case involving the Bonaparte apartment complex, including Ladislav B. [name abbreviated due to legal reasons], were acquitted by Bratislava I Municipal Court on Friday. According to the court, it couldn't be proven that the alleged offence had occurred. It also referred the tax office to claim damages via civil proceedings. The verdict is not yet final as the prosecutor has appealed against it. The defendants did not appear to hear the verdict. "It can be concluded that it wasn't proven beyond a reasonable doubt that there was an artificial increase in the project's price. In view of the above, as it wasn't proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the act alleged in the indictment was committed, the court acquitted the defendants," the court stated in its reasoning. A prosecutor indicted Ladislav B. in the Bonaparte case in June 2022. Four people in total were charged in connection with the case for the crime of failing to pay taxes and compulsory levies into insurance funds, but one of them has died in the meantime. The case also concerns suspicions that use was made of an illicit claim for an excessive VAT deduction. The tax office is claiming damages amounting to more than €913,000. am/df