Fico has neither account, nor company stake in Belize

SLOVAK Prime Minister Robert Fico and his wife do not have and have never had any banking accounts in Belize, and do not hold any stake and do not have managerial control in any company registered in Belize.

PM Robert Fico and his wife SvetlanaPM Robert Fico and his wife Svetlana (Source: SITA)

Fico said so during a meeting held on the occasion of the Constitution Day on September 1. He responded to the previous claims of Igor Matovič, chair of the Ordinary People and Independent Personalities (OĽaNO), who said in mid-August that he received an anonymous letter stating that Fico and his wife had  a letterbox company and a banking account with around $700 million in Belize. Fico rejected the claims, and with his wife at his side announced that he would file a criminal complaint against Matovič for slander, the TASR newswire reported.

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Read also: Campaign heats up with Fico allegations Read more 

“The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) informed the respective Slovak law enforcement authorities that Robert Fico and his wife do not have and have not had any personal or business accounts, or other financial products in financial institutions in Belize, and that these people are not signatories of any accounts whose owners are legal entities in Belize,” reads Fico’s official statement, as quoted by the Denník N daily.

The FIU also confirmed that neither Fico nor his wife appear as partners in any company registered in Belize.

Police Corps President Tibor Gašpar confirmed they received this document from Belize. Such responses from the FIU are usually quick, he said, adding that they plan to officially ask them for legal aid.

When asked why Fico knows about the facts revealed in the document, Gašpar explained that he had asked to look into the file, as reported by Denník N.

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Meanwhile, Fico called on Matovič to draw consequences from the information provided by Belize’s authorities and resign as a MP.

“A very thorough police investigation in cooperation with the police of the concerned country [Belize] has refuted without any doubt these mendacious claims,” Fico said, as quoted by TASR. He added that Matovič’s claims are damaging not only to him as a person, but also to Slovakia’s image abroad.

Matovič, however, responded that Belize is notorious for covering up internationally wanted criminals who place their illegally acquired money in accounts in the country, Fico’s paper from the Belizean authorities about his innocence is irrelevant.

“Belize is a country where it’s possible to buy anything for such money as Fico has at his disposal,” said Matovič, as quoted by TASR, adding that therefore he is not resigning.

He went on to say that considering this, “the piece of paper waved by Fico in front of people’s eyes doesn’t interest me at all”, as reported by TASR. He also plans to present to the Slovak police documents on alleged manipulation of a public tender with Fico’s involvement and a Belizean connection on September 3.

“Of course, if it emerges that there’s not even ‘part per thousand’ of truth in the information on the manipulated tender, I don’t have the slightest problem giving up my parliamentary mandate,” Matovič continued. “Nevertheless, if it emerges that Slovakia has been harmed in the aforementioned tender, I expect a similarly manly attitude from Fico.”

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