Two suspects charged with fraud relating to the collapse of investment companies Horizont Slovakia and BMG Invest are due to be released on Saturday, following a judgement by Košice district court that investigators had already had enough time to put their case together.
One of the suspects, Jozef Majský, is thought to be one of the richest men in Slovakia. His wife is Diana Dubovská, an MP for the opposition Movement for a Democratic Slovakia. The other suspect is Patrik Pachinger. Both have been held in high-security prisons.
Justice Minister Daniel Lipšic expressed dismay at the court's decision.
"Until now I had been convinced that this is a clear case where the accused could not escape from prison, that they would not be freed," he said.
BMG and Horizont, which operated like pyramid schemes, collapsed in 2002 with losses to depositors of an estimated Sk16 billion (?386 million). Majský was arrested last October on a border crossing between Slovakia and Austria.
Compiled by Conrad Toft from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
19. Jun 2003 at 15:38
