Matovič hands over Procházka tape to police

Ordinary People and Independent Personalities (OĽaNO) leader Igor Matovič turned over recordings of a conversation with Radoslav Procházka (non-parliamentary opposition Sieť party) about paying for political ads off the books on December 17. “Since it is my obligation as a witness and at the same time I know that the recording is authentic and it has not been manipulated, I have handed over the whole recording,” Matovič told the TASR newswire. “The only thing left for me to do is to hope is that Radoslav Procházka’s statement from the presidential campaign that “before court we all should be equal” will apply also in this case and it will not be swept under the carpet, as has been the practice in Slovakia over the past 25 years.” The OĽaNO leader is sorry that Procházka did not take the chance to admit and to regret publicly these dealings during his presidential campaign. “If he did so, nobody would ever know about the recording,” Matovič added. In his opinion, the most critical fact on the recording was Procházka’s statement that he would spend half a million euros on the campaign, while he reported just half that amount. Criminal prosecution over the recording was originally launched by the police in September but later terminated due to technical reasons. In November, however, the General Prosecutor’s Office found the previous decision unlawful and has resumed the prosecution. The recording surfaced in the media after Procházka refused to take a polygraph test – as requested by Matovič – in order to disprove Matovič’s allegations of illegal funding of his presidential election campaign. During the conversation, the two men discussed the option of paying for part of presidential campaign ads in Matovič’s newspapers without a receipt. Procházka admitted that the voice in the recording belonged to him, yet maintains that the material was heavily edited.

Ordinary People and Independent Personalities (OĽaNO) leader Igor Matovič turned over recordings of a conversation with Radoslav Procházka (non-parliamentary opposition Sieť party) about paying for political ads off the books on December 17.

“Since it is my obligation as a witness and at the same time I know that the recording is authentic and it has not been manipulated, I have handed over the whole recording,” Matovič told the TASR newswire. “The only thing left for me to do is to hope is that Radoslav Procházka’s statement from the presidential campaign that “before court we all should be equal” will apply also in this case and it will not be swept under the carpet, as has been the practice in Slovakia over the past 25 years.”

The OĽaNO leader is sorry that Procházka did not take the chance to admit and to regret publicly these dealings during his presidential campaign. “If he did so, nobody would ever know about the recording,” Matovič added. In his opinion, the most critical fact on the recording was Procházka’s statement that he would spend half a million euros on the campaign, while he reported just half that amount.

Criminal prosecution over the recording was originally launched by the police in September but later terminated due to technical reasons. In November, however, the General Prosecutor’s Office found the previous decision unlawful and has resumed the prosecution.

The recording surfaced in the media after Procházka refused to take a polygraph test – as requested by Matovič – in order to disprove Matovič’s allegations of illegal funding of his presidential election campaign. During the conversation, the two men discussed the option of paying for part of presidential campaign ads in Matovič’s newspapers without a receipt. Procházka admitted that the voice in the recording belonged to him, yet maintains that the material was heavily edited.

(Source: TASR)
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.

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