Law firm Avocat, s.r.o., which reportedly has close links to the leader Slovak National Party (SNS) Ján Slota, has won another public contract, according to the Nový Čas daily published on March 4.
The tabloid reports that it was awarded a new contract worth €150,000 by the National Property Fund (FNM), which is led by SNS nominee Peter Šimko.
The contract was reportedly awarded without a transparent public competition. FNM spokesperson Tatiana Lesajová confirmed that the fund had signed a contract with Avocat on the use of external lawyers in relation to the Commercial Code at the end of January. She added that the fund has been cooperating with Avocat since 2002. In reply to the tabloid's question about whether the fund does not have enough in-house lawyers, she said that the FNM is currently involved in 292 legal cases, and external lawyers are dealing with a majority of these.
Avocat is a member of the consortium which earlier won a controversial Construction Ministry tender worth approximately €119 million. NČ
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
