The Office of the General Prosecutor has denied that the transcripts of recordings published on the blog of journalist and former editor-in-chief of The Slovak Spectator Tom Nicholson were leaked from the investigation file of the case of the alleged Bratislava-based organised crime group led by Libor Jakšík which is handled at their office. On his blog, published on April 30, Nicholson indicated possible links between Jakšík and Stanislav Jankovič, former vice-president of the Police Corps. Following the publication of this information, Jankovič resigned from his post of advisor to Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák.
“Considering that the transcripts of recordings published in several media (…) were related to other people and pertain to a certain crime, the Office of the General Prosecutor in Slovakia forwarded these facts ex officio to the Office of the Controlling and Inspection Service of the Slovak Interior Ministry for investigation,” spokesperson for the General Prosecutor’s Office Jana Tökölyová wrote in an official statement sent to the media.
According to Nicholson’s blog, published on the Sme.sk website, the Specialised Criminal Court in Banská Bystrica authorised the bugging of Jakšík’s telephone from June 2010, and transcripts made soon after that indicate that the businessman had influential contacts, including among the then top management of the Police Corps as well as people at the Office of the General Prosecutor.
One day after the bugging began, the police recorded a conversation with Jankovič in which Jakšík complains about what he calls attacks “from the bodies you are responsible for”, according to the transcripts published by Nicholson. The two men also try to arrange a meeting.
One of the transcripts published on Nicholson’s blog contained a text message saying “Hi, a friend is now at g.p.”. According to the journalist, the abbreviation “g.p.” might stand for “general prosecutor”, who at the time the recordings were made was Dobroslav Trnka. He also indicated that at the time Trnka was friends with business tycoon Marián Kočner.
Tökölyová responded that on June 10, 2010, when the text message was sent, Kočner did not visit the Office of the General Prosecutor to see either Trnka or any other prosecutor or employee of the Office of the General Prosecutor.
“Journalist Nicholson was allowed on Friday, May 3, 2013, to see the book of visits at the Office of the General Prosecutor in order to check the veracity of his claims,” Tökölyová said, adding that he has not visited the office yet.
Source: Office of the General Prosecutor, Sme
To read more about this story please see: Top cop quits over alleged mafia links
Compiled by Radka Minarechová from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
