One of the OĽaNO billboards: We will not sell you to the mafia. (source: TASR - Jaroslav Novák)
It is no secret that OĽaNO leader Igor Matovič and SaS leader Richard Sulík do not get along, and that their conflicts contributed to the fall of OĽaNO-led governments in the past three years.
Before the end of last year, Matovič announced that he would publish evidence about alleged corruption involving his now political rival during the election campaign. And last Sunday he published a photo that purports to show communication between Sulík, a former economy minister in the OĽaNO-led governments, and oligarch Jaroslav Haščák of the Penta financial group.
The correspondence allegedly comes from autumn 2020.
Haščák is a key character the Gorilla file, leaked online in 2011, which documents alleged political corruption. Its publication led to a wave of mass protests in Slovakia, but the allegations themselves have not yet been proved. In December 2020, Haščák was charged with corruption and money laundering. The charges were later dropped on the orders of the Prosecutor General. Haščák is currently facing charges of legalising income from criminal activity.
Matovič is now blaming Sulík for promoting the interests of private health insurance company Dôvera, which Penta owns. In 2020, OĽaNO planned to pump €300 million into state-owned health company VšZP, but SaS blocked the proposal and demanded money for private health insurance firms. In return, Matovič alleges, Haščák made sure Sulík’s colleague, SaS MP Jana Bittó Cigániková, got publicity in media owned by Penta.
