Korcok: President Should Address Allegations Concerning Campaign Financing

Bratislava, 15 April (TASR) - President Peter Pellegrini should take up a stance regarding allegations that his presidential campaign was financed illegally, unsuccessful presidential candidate and member of the opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) party Ivan Korcok stated on Wednesday, emphasising that neither he nor his team ever offered anyone any financial compensation for expressing support. "One of his [Pellegrini's] supporters says that an agency approached her and gave her money. Moreover, she offered money to others in exchange for public support. The president owes us all an explanation as to where the funds he obviously gave to influencers are accounted for, and where we can find them in a transparent account," said Korcok. Korcok noted that Pellegrini has already received one fine for violating the rules governing the financing of his presidential campaign. "It's very sad that after two years of the president's term, his only legacy is that we're here discussing how he actually got into the Presidential Palace," he added. The police have confirmed for TASR that the anti-corruption unit of the Office for Combating Organised Crime at the Police Corps Presidium is investigating the financing of Pellegrini's campaign. According to the police, it isn't possible to provide further details at the moment, as this could interfere with or hinder further proceedings in the case, especially regarding the collection and evaluation of evidence. It was Dennik N daily that first broke the news about the financing of the presidential campaign, reporting that the police had allegedly summoned one of the influencers for questioning to investigate the allegations. Two years ago, during the campaign, he was reportedly contacted by another influencer who offered him €30,000 for supporting Pellegrini on social media. A problem could arise if the influencer didn't disclose the paid support on social media and presented his statements as being without financial reward, or if a candidate paid financial rewards to influencers but didn't include them in his campaign expenditures. am/df