Robert Fico. (source: TASR)
The Special Prosecutor's Office has called for investigators to produce more evidence in their case against former prime minister Robert Fico (Smer) and ex-interior minister Robert Kaliňák.
Police had considered the investigation of Fico and Kaliňák finished and had handed over materials to prosecutors, expecting the pair to be brought to court.
However, the Special Prosecutor's Office on Wednesday returned the investigation to them, with supervising prosecutor Matúš Harkabus saying he had come across errors while studying the case file.
Wants more evidence
"Due to a procedural error on the part of the investigator, certain things will have to be carried out again and additional evidence added to the case. So, the prosecutor returned it to the investigators with instructions," explained Jana Tökölyová, spokeswoman for the Special Prosecutor's Office. The office did not say what the errors were.
The police currently do not want to comment on the investigation, code-named Súmrak (Twilight), which centres on an alleged organized crime group operating within the police force.
Spokesperson Michal Slivka explained they plan to provide more comprehensive information on the issue in the coming days.
After completing the investigation according to the instructions, prosecutor Harkabus will again decide whether to approve an indictment or not.
The police propose that along with the former PM and interior minister, Nitra-based oligarch Norbert Bödör and former police chief Tibor Gašpar are also indicted.
What are the charges?
Both Fico and Kaliňák have been accused of founding and supporting a criminal organisation, abuse of public office and of endangering tax secrecy. However, as Fico is an MP, approval for his arrest was needed in parliament. In May, lawmakers voted not to approve his arrest.
The most serious charges pertain to the alleged organised crime group. With people in some of the most powerful government positions, the group was able to launch or stop investigations into businesspeople and Smer’s political opponents, according to the needs of the party's leaders. The group also allegedly worked to gather classified information and blackmail people.
This allegation is based the separate ongoing 'Purgatory' investigation into a mafia group that reportedly operated within the police under successive Smer governments and was involved in attempts to halt several investigations.
The main witnesses in the case are Ľudovít Makó, the former head of the Financial Administration’s criminal police unit, and Bernard Slobodník, the former head of the National Crime Agency’s Financial Police Unit. They told police that Bödör and former Police Corps president Gašpar led the group, and that Smer’s leading figures were aware of this. Makó and Slobodník were themselves members.
