The State Secretary of the Economy Ministry, Pavol Krištof, has resigned from his post even though – according to a statement written by Movement for Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) spokeswoman Soňa Jantoláková provided to the SITA newswire – Krištof says he did not commit the crime that he is accused of and will defend himself in a court trial.
The Regional Prosecutor's Office in Trenčín has charged Krištof with tax evasion. The District Court in Partizánske accepted the charges against the nominee of the HZDS on January 26 and set a trial date for March 9. If found guilty, Krištof he could be sentenced to a twelve-year prison term. The defendant considers the charges tendentious and politicised, according to the written statement.
The prosecutor’s office also charged four other people with several crimes which it says were committed between 1996 and 2000 in which the indicted representatives of various trading companies avoided paying taxes and pension and health insurance contributions that they had previously deducted from paid wages.
Economy Minister Ľubomír Jahnátek commented before the start of the cabinet session on January 27 that he agreed with HZDS chairman Vladimír Mečiar on January 26 that Krištof would personally resign on January 27. The minister said that HZDS expects to nominate a new state secretary before the June parliamentary elections. SITA
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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