Police detain another person in promissory notes case

Ex-director of private broadcaster TV Markíza, Pavol Rusko, was detained shortly after being heard.

Pavol RuskoPavol Rusko (Source: SME)

The police have detained former director of the private broadcaster TV Markíza Pavol Rusko, with the intent to prosecute him, in custody, on June 21.

He was charged with falsifying, altering and producing money and securities without authorisation, as well as the crime of marring the enforcement of justice by aiding and abetting, the Sme daily reported.

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Read also: NAKA detains businessman Kočner Read more 

Earlier that day, Rusko went to the police for a hearing.

“I have peremptorily rejected all accusations,” he said, as quoted by Sme.

Kočner remains in custody

Rusko went to the police in connection with the detention of controversial businessman Marián Kočner, known from the so-called mafia lists. He also threatened murdered journalist Ján Kuciak and another journalist Adam Valček.

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Kočner was detained on June 20 in connection with questionable promissory notes issued to TV Markíza and tax-related crimes.

“I explained my attitude and arguments concerning the case,” Rusko said, as quoted by Sme.

Read also: Tycoon Marián Kočner threatens Sme journalist Read more 

As well as Rusko and his lawyer Marek Para (who left before the end), Kočner’s lawyer Martin Pohovej was present, Sme wrote.

As the interrogation was still underway, Para did not want to comment. He did not even say whether Rusko confirmed the promissory notes worth €70 million, involving the private TV channel Markíza, back in 2000.

Rusko has not objected to the charges, though he plans to do so, his lawyer told Sme.

Meanwhile, Kočner remains in custody.

Markíza responds

The National Criminal Agency (NAKA) launched the criminal prosecution in the case of promissory notes only recently. At the time, it described Kočner as a suspect, but did not bring any charges against him.

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Meanwhile, Peter Papanek, media representative of TV Markíza, said that the suspicions against both Kočner and Rusko are serious, which is confirmed by NAKA’s actions, as he told Sme.

The broadcaster has doubted the authenticity of the promissory notes since the beginning of the dispute.

“We have submitted the evidence pertaining to the suspicion of forging the promissory notes based on verifiable facts to the district court,” Papanek said, as quoted by Sme. “The disputed promissory notes have never been recoded in Markíza’s accounting books, nor in the books of other companies that allegedly owned them before a claim was made.”

He reiterated that the promissory notes were probably not created in 2000, as Kočner says but later when Rusko was no longer leading the broadcaster, as reported by Sme.

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