Slovakia's state Securities Centre, the country's sole securities ownership registration organisation, said on October 16 it had managed to ward off the bailiffs for the time being.
A court ruled that bailiffs could confiscate property after the SCP failed to pay damages of 67 million Sk ($1.9 million) to a little known company, Kierra a.s. which had shares stolen from an account at the SCP.
SCP spokeswoman Erika Mináriková said the centre filed an objection this week against the ruling. She said the SCP would use the time to find money from the state, banks, or on the capital market to pay the damages rather than attempting to have the claim dismissed altogether.
The centre said earlier this week it had taken all possible steps to ensure that its work would not be disrupted by the situation.
The SITA news agency reported that Kierra had merged with investment fund IPF 1. Sporitelna-VSŽ Investični Fond a.s., which won a dispute with the SCP over shares stolen from its account several years ago.
SCP says the theft was caused by negligence on the part of a subcontractor but that it could only seek damages from the subcontractor after it settles the claim. The SCP is the country's monopoly registration place for trading in securities, which are nearly all in book-entry form.
Author: Ján Lopatka
