Košice Self-Governing Region Chair Rastislav Trnka talks to journalists outside the Specialised Criminal Court in Pezinok, western Slovakia, on February 19, 2023. (source: Sme - Marko Erd)
The Specialised Criminal Court did not take Košice Self-Governing Region chair Rastislav Trnka into custody on Sunday night, following a criminal charge pressed against him last Friday.
The National Crime Agency detained seven people during the Valentine police operation on February 17, charging five people with procurement fraud where they are suspected of acting as accomplices.
While Trnka has avoided custody, Judge Peter Pullmann decided that charged businessman and Trnka acquaintance Richard Reday would be sent into custody.
Overpriced thermometers
The region bought 205 overpriced thermometers in 2020 and 2021 from Reday’s firm, United Corp. The Denník N daily broke the story in November 2021. Other regions, like Nitra and Banská Bystrica, managed to procure similar thermometers at a much cheaper price from a different company. While Košice paid €722, or €787 in another purchase, for a thermometer, the other two regions spent between €360 and €380 on one thermometer. The Supreme Audit Office and the Office for Public Procurement both criticised the overpriced purchases during Trnka’s management of the self-governing region.
Last week, Special Prosecutor Daniel Lipšic confirmed that the police operation concerned the procurement of overpriced thermometers.
Trnka, who has served his second term as self-governing region chair from the end of last year, considered the thermometer scandal around to be a political attack during the regional elections campaign. He has long denied the claims about non-transparent procurement practices at the office he has held since 2017.
Road spreaders
Apart from the procurement of overpriced thermometers, the National Crime Agency has been investigating the procurement of four overpriced Tatra road spreaders for €1.3 million from the Tempus-Trans company, which the Košice Region bought in 2020. The Prešov Self-Governing Region managed to procure similar vehicles for less money.
Last Friday, the police detained Košice Region Road Administration Head Anton Trišč, Tempus-Trans President Martin Sojka, and the firm’s board member Ján Sendrei. The police detained two other persons, local councillor Zuzana Slivenská and expert Daniel Hlubeň, but no charges have been pressed against them.
If found guilty, the charged persons could spend from seven to 12 years in prison.
Although Trnka has not been sent to custody for now, the prosecutor filed a complaint against Pullmann’s decision on Sunday. According to the prosecutor, Pullmann saw no reason to place Trnka under custody, nor his prosecution, the Sme daily wrote.
The Supreme Court will deal with the complaint.
