Murder investigation: What we know so far and what are the main independence concerns

Presence of prominent criminal agency head at the crime scene raises concerns of impartiality. Vadala speaks out.

Antonino VadalaAntonino Vadala (Source: Korzár)

Antonino Vadala, the man whom the murdered reporter Jan Kuciak linked with the Italian mafia and people close to Prime Minister Robert Fico in his last article, claims not to have ties to any Italian mafia. But the documents that the Italian police sent to Slovakia as early as 2013 disprove his claim.

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Following the request of General Prosecutor Jaromír Čižnár, the police are no longer providing information on the investigation of the murder case connected to Ján Kuciak and Martina Kušnírova. So far they have mostly informed on the investigation of what came to be known as the Italian connection, but it is not clear what other connections they are following in the investigation and to what extent.

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The opposition and journalists have pointed out the links between some top police officers and people linked with the Smer party, raising further concerns about the impartiality of the investigation.

Read also: A murderer, an MP, a model: Who is who in the case Kuciak was investigating Read more 

Vadala speaks out

On March 6, the Korzár weekly published an interview with Vadala that they conducted at his own request. In the interview the Italian who has lived and done business in eastern Slovakia for more than 15 years denies any links between himself and the Calabrian organised crime group, ‘Ndrangheta.

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