His DNA has not been detected. Investigation of ex-spy head's corruption suspicions nears its end

Former director of the Slovak intelligence agency Vladimír Pčolinský faces corruption charges. It is not easy to find DNA on banknotes, police say.

Vladimír PčolinskýVladimír Pčolinský (Source: TASR)

Three witnesses are testifying against him. Their testimonies partly match the records of the intelligence agency he used to lead. His former colleagues took his side, while the police failed to find traces of his DNA on the money.

SkryťTurn off ads
Article continues after video advertisement
SkryťTurn off ads
Article continues after video advertisement

The investigation of the former director of the Slovak Information Service (SIS), Vladimír Pčolinský on the corruption charges he is facing, is nearing its end.

This stems from the document of the Specialised Criminal Court, which declined the request of Pčolinský of being released from pre-trial custody.

SkryťTurn off ads

His attorney Ondrej Urban confirmed that the investigation of his case is in the final stages now.

Pčolinský faces accusations that he took €20,000 to halt the wiretapping of lawyer Zoroslav Kollár. By the end of April 2021, more charges were added. He stands accused of having bribed former NAKA member Marián Kučerka, allegedly paying him €10,000 to overlook tax fraud suspicions against a certain transnational construction company.

All planned interrogations have been concluded and the investigator has gathered all the expert opinions they required. Currently, the formal study of the case file is ongoing, which Urban said can be considered to be the conclusion of the evidence-gathering stage.

"We have filed two more proposals to add to the gathered evidence, which I will not speak of in detail, but we have no information on whether the investigator will oblige," Urban said.

SkryťTurn off ads

The Special Prosecutor's Office declined to comment.

The Pčolinský case was an impetus for political conflict within the ruling coalition. The coalition Sme Rodina party has pushed through changes on pre-trial custody rules, and they have been questioning the trustworthiness of Interior Minister Roman Mikulec of OĽaNO.

What witnesses say

The rest of this article is premium content at Spectator.sk
Subscribe now for full access

I already have subscription - Sign in

Subscription provides you with:
  • Immediate access to all locked articles (premium content) on Spectator.sk
  • Special weekly news summary + an audio recording with a weekly news summary to listen to at your convenience (received on a weekly basis directly to your e-mail)
  • PDF version of the latest issue of our newspaper, The Slovak Spectator, emailed directly to you
  • Access to all premium content on Sme.sk and Korzar.sk

Top stories

Stock image.

Twice as many Ukrainians work in Slovakia now than before the Russian invasion.


Píšem or pišám?

"Do ľava," (to the left) I yelled, "Nie, do prava" (no, to the right), I gasped. "Dolšie," I screamed. "Nie, nie, horšie..." My Slovak girlfriend collapsed in laughter. Was it something I said?


Matthew J. Reynolds
Czech biochemist Jan Konvalinka.

Jan Konvalinka was expecting a pandemic before Covid-19 came along.


SkryťClose ad