PS Files Criminal Complaint Over €250,000 in Bonuses at Environment Ministry

Bratislava, 10 November (TASR) – The opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) party is filing a criminal complaint over bonuses paid by the Environment Ministry during Tomas Taraba's tenure as minister, due to a suspected breach of the Civil Service Act, pointing out that bonus payments must be clearly justified, MPs Tamara Stohlova and Branislav Vanco (both PS) declared at a press conference on Tuesday. "We have serious suspicions that there was no legal basis for paying bonuses totalling €250,000 to his two closest associates. Quite simply, there's no legitimate legal basis for this. The Civil Service Act clearly states that there must be a reason and that it must be clearly justified. Vague claims that they deserve the money aren't enough," said Vanco. He and Stohlova described the payment of such substantial bonuses as outrageous. "People were told to tighten their belts, while on the other hand, they've been squandering public money – our shared money – for three years," he underlined. Vanco also said that it's important to monitor what happened to the money received by certain ministry employees as bonuses. "Whether they might use it to help Taraba launch his own political party," he commented. An audit conducted at the Environment Ministry in October revealed that two employees who worked in close proximity to former minister Taraba received individual bonuses during 2026, each totalling more than €100,000. According to the audit's findings to date, more than €2 million was paid out in employee bonuses across the ministry during the first nine months of 2026. At the time, Deputy Environment Minister Filip Kuffa announced his plan to seek the repayment of bonuses paid by the ministry and to review whether they were allocated in an efficient manner. In response to the audit, Taraba said that he managed the ministry to a very high standard, adding that he awarded the bonuses to employees who deserved them. mf/df