PM Robert Fico confirmed the government's commitment to compensate former clients of bankrupt pyramid schemes BMG Invest and Horizont.
He said that a law providing compensation could be approved this year, in which case the compensation could be paid in 2008. However, Fico refused to specify exactly how much the government planned to spend on the payments.
"I don't like to talk about exact sums. We will definitely talk to the associations that represent the plaintiffs, but the figures themselves will depend on what the state budget can afford," Fico said at a press conference following a cabinet session on January 10.
He stressed that the compensation would only be partial. "We are considering the extent of the state's responsibility [for allowing the pyramid schemes to operate], as well as that of those people who decided to take a risk and give their money to companies that were definitely too risky," he said.
