Daniel Lipsic (l) and Gábor Grendel (r) (source: SITA)
The National Criminal Agency (NAKA) has reportedly accused former MP Daniel Lipšic and his party colleague Gábor Grendel of committing a crime, according to the Aktuality.sk website. This may relate to their statements regarding tycoon Marián Kočner, whose name appeared also in the so-called mafia lists, the Denník N daily reported.
Kočner has charged both Lipšic and Grendel for providing journalists with information about transactions at his personal bank account back in April 2012.
The police have not commented on the accusations yet, the Sme daily wrote.
Kočner now claims that he learned about the charges only from the media.
“I have not submitted a criminal complaint against neither Lipšic nor Grendel,” he told Sme.
Not even the Bratislava regional prosecutor’s office knows about the charges, said its spokesperson Michal Šúrek.
Media reports concerning alleged charges of slander and the misuse of a public official’s powers against us are designed to criminalise the opposition, said Lipšic and Grendel in response to the charges.
They both stated they have not received any official notification yet.
“Two criminal complaints were filed four years ago concerning my activities at the Interior Ministry and the investigation into the Gorilla case – one was filed by Penta, the other by Kočner,” said Lipšic, as quoted by TASR.
Lipšic also showed TASR a copy of a Bratislava court ruling rejecting a civil complaint filed by Privatbanka against the Interior Ministry and Lipšic in person. Privatbanka was claiming compensation for alleged damage to its reputation.
“Nothing is beginning, nothing is ending,” Lipšic claimed, as quoted by TASR. “I think that, unfortunately, we have still a lot to ‘look forward to’. Representatives of the governing coalition want to avoid being held accountable for actions that they've carried out in recent years and continue to carry out.”
Back in 2012, Lipšic claimed that Privatbanka, which belongs to the Penta financial group, had covered dubious transactions of the businessman. At the time, Kočner sent €3 million from an account in Malta to Privatbanka. The bank did not report it as an unusual business transaction, though it was supposed to do so, according to the financial police.
The police noticed it only after it was notified by their colleagues in Malta. The money had originally come from Belize, which is considered a tax haven, Sme wrote.
Kočner was outraged by the information and explained that the money was part of stock sales. He described the transaction as negligible, adding that he had not even noticed it.
Lipšic said at the time that Privatbanka may have lost its licence due to the error. The bank responded there is no reason for such a step and submitted a lawsuit, Sme wrote.
Disclaimer: Penta financial group has a 45-percent share in Petit Press, the co-owner of The Slovak Spectator.
