Holcová: Organised crime has not noticed Czechoslovakia’s break-up

A centre that helps reveal crimes with international links was absent in Slovakia, says a Czech investigative journalist who collaborated with Ján Kuciak.

Pavla HolcováPavla Holcová (Source: TASR)

Reports about the Slovak links in the Panama Papers scandal are just one of the examples of how the Czech Centre for Investigative Journalism works.

Founded in 2013 by a group of journalists in the Czech Republic, the centre wants to raise awareness of the public about the impact of financial crimes on politics and economics.

SkryťTurn off ads
Article continues after video advertisement
SkryťTurn off ads
Article continues after video advertisement

There was no Slovak counterpart to the centre, though Pavla Holcová admits she discussed the idea of establishing it about two years ago with her close collaborator, Slovak investigative journalist Ján Kuciak, murdered last February along with his fiancée, Martina Kušnírová.

SkryťTurn off ads
Read also: New investigative centre, named after Kuciak, will help reveal corruption Read more 

“He told me he liked the idea but didn’t feel like doing it at that moment,” Holcová said.

This will change now. In late 2018, a group of Slovak journalists founded the Investigative Centre of Ján Kuciak (ICJK), with the purpose of reporting about corruption and organised crime and helping journalists investigate international links in their stories.

Holcová has been appointed a member of ICJK’s board and will supervise the project and offer her experience running a similar centre.

The Slovak Spectator (TSS): What persuaded you to participate in the Investigative Centre of Ján Kuciak project?

The rest of this article is premium content at Spectator.sk
Subscribe now for full access

I already have subscription - Sign in

Subscription provides you with:
  • Immediate access to all locked articles (premium content) on Spectator.sk
  • Special weekly news summary + an audio recording with a weekly news summary to listen to at your convenience (received on a weekly basis directly to your e-mail)
  • PDF version of the latest issue of our newspaper, The Slovak Spectator, emailed directly to you
  • Access to all premium content on Sme.sk and Korzar.sk

Top stories

Janka, a blogger, during the inauguration of the first flight to Athens with Aegean Airlines at the airport in Bratislava on September 14, 2023.

A Czech rail operator connects Prague and Ukraine, Dominika Cibulková endorses Pellegrini, and Bratislava events.


Píšem or pišám?

"Do ľava," (to the left) I yelled, "Nie, do prava" (no, to the right), I gasped. "Dolšie," I screamed. "Nie, nie, horšie..." My Slovak girlfriend collapsed in laughter. Was it something I said?


Matthew J. Reynolds
Czech biochemist Jan Konvalinka.

Jan Konvalinka was expecting a pandemic before Covid-19 came along.


SkryťClose ad