PG Office: Ex-minister of Agriculture Matecna Acquitted of Charges

Bratislava, 27 May (TASR) - Ex-minister of agriculture Gabriela Matecna has had her criminal charges of violating obligations in the administration of someone else's property dropped. At the same time, the first deputy prosecutor-general (PG) ordered an investigator to reopen the case and issue a new decision. This information was first reported by the Aktuality.sk news website and confirmed for TASR by PG's Office's spokesperson Jana Tokolyova. "The first deputy PG, acting on behalf of the PG, based on appeals filed by defendants G.M. and R.P. [names abbreviated due to legal reasons], issued a decision on 11 May annulling the resolution of the police investigator who had pressed charges of violating obligations in the administration of some else's property against G.M. and R.P. He also tasked the police investigator with reopening the case and issuing a new decision," specified Tokolyova. According to Aktuality.sk, the case concerned the Slovak Land Fund's (SPF) representation in a dispute over the Slanske Forests. "A large part of the disputes was originally handled by a lawyer from Kosice. At a point when the case was nearly won, Matecna concluded a contract with law firm Ecker-Kan worth €1.8 million. Investigators originally saw Matecna's actions as a violation of obligations in the management of someone else's property," states the website. ko/df