Slovakia's central bank chief fined for bribery, faces trial
2023-04-13 15:34:23.221 GMT
Slovakia's central bank chief fined for bribery, faces trial
BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — The head of Slovakia's central bank, who is a
member of the European Central Bank committee that decides monetary policy for
20 countries, was convicted Thursday of bribery and fined 100,000 euros
($110,000).
The country’s Special Criminal Court handed National Bank of Slovakia Gov.
Peter Kazimir a two-year suspended sentence, said Katarina Kudjakova, a
spokesperson for the court. Not paying the fine would mean jail time.
The verdict was issued without a trial, however, and the state prosecution
service appealed it shortly afterward, sending the case back to court. Kazimir
also could appeal.
Kazimir is accused of handing a bribe of 48,000 euros ($53,000) to the head of
the country’s tax office related to a tax investigation of private companies,
but few details were available because there was no trial.
Kazimir didn’t immediately comment, but he previously denied any wrongdoing.
President Zuzana Caputova said Kazimir should consider resigning, and Prime
Minister Eduard Heger called it “unacceptable” for him to head the central
bank.
Slovakia is one of 20 countries that use the euro currency, and Kazimir is a
member of the European Central Bank's governing council, its main
decision-making body. The ECB said it had no comment.
The case dates to when Kazimir served as finance minister from 2012 to 2019 in
the leftist government of populist Prime Minister Robert Fico and was a member
of Fico’s Smer-Social Democracy party before taking over his central bank job.
Smer lost the 2020 general election and was replaced by a coalition government
whose parties campaigned on an anti-corruption ticket.
The new government made fighting corruption a key policy issue. Since it took
power, a number of senior officials, police officers, judges, prosecutors,
politicians and businesspeople have been charged with corruption and other
crimes.
Slovakia faces an early election in September after the government lost a
parliamentary no-confidence vote in December. Fico, who unlike the current
government opposes military help for Ukraine against Russia, stands a chance
to win the snap vote, recent polls suggested.
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