Illustrative stock photo (source: SME)
The National Criminal Agency (NAKA) detained about 30 people suspected of committing economic crimes during raids in Bratislava, western and central Slovakia, the Topky.sk website reported.
Officers raided both residential and business premises in various towns and searched warehouses, documents, accounting records and computers. Among the searched locations were companies situated on Stará Vajnorská street in Bratislava and the premises of INTV television broadcaster, which was to launch broadcasting soon, the TASR newswire wrote.
The aim was to find people “who are interconnected and who may relate to the television broadcaster somehow”, as reported by TASR.
The raids were approved by the court.
“NAKA documents a serious tax crime which was to be committed by an organised group,” Police Corps Presidium spokesperson Martin Wäld confirmed to Topky.sk. He has not provided further details as the investigation is still underway.
Among the suspects is a person identified as Peter P. who serves, according to the website, as authorised representative in more than 10 companies residing in Bratislava. He is reported to be abroad.
INTV television wrote about the raid on its Facebook profile.
“We were informed that two days before the planned start of broadcasting... the police do everything to mar the independent reporting,” reads its Facebook status, as quoted by the Sme.sk website. “Without any reason they occupied our premises.”
It later published the police report, showing that they found nothing.
People behind INTV spread various conspiracy theories. It plans to share the reporting of association led by founder of Slobodný Vysielač Nortbert Lichtner, while the editor-in-chief of the broadcast news was to be former reporter of conspiracy-oriented magazine Zem a Vek Ľubomír Huďo, Sme.sk wrote.
Moreover, part of the team was originally also former TV presenter Martina Šimkovičová, who has meanwhile been appointed MP for the We Are Family party of Boris Kollár, the website reported.
