FORMER prime minister Vladimír Mečiar failed to appear in court on January 13 to face charges that he received almost Sk140,000 (3,500 euro) in illegal bonuses as a cabinet member from 1994 to 1998.
While other members of the third Mečiar government, such as Katarína Tóthová and Sergej Kozlík, had cooperated with police in similar illegal bonus cases, Mečiar from the beginning refused to even accept court and police summons, a court official said on private Twist radio.
Members of both Mečiar's cabinet and the 1998-2002 Mikuláš Dzurinda administration are alleged to have accepted bonuses even though public service laws did not entitle them to the money.
