Kováč Jr. prevented from crossing border

Border police seized Michal Kováč Jr.'s passport as he attempted to travel to Munich via Austria on June 26, Slovak media reported. Kováč Jr., President Kováč's son, said he intended to testify in Germany regarding to his alleged connection to a $2.3 million fraud case involving the Slovak trade firm Technopol. His passport was confiscated on the orders of an investigator at the Bratislava City Office of Investigation. Although fraud charges were brought against Kováč Jr. in Slovakia last December, Sme reported on June 20 that his passport was not blocked until June 6, after he announced he was going to Germany. Kováč Jr.'s lawyer, Ján Havlat, had the German arrest warrant suspended until July 20 so that his client could go to Germany; however, it now seems unlikely that Kováč Jr. will be able to travel by that date. Kováč Jr. said the police action shows that the authorities do not want the case to be resolved.