Slovak central bank governor to stand trial for bribery

National Bank of Slovakia Governor Peter Kažimír is to appear in court in July on bribery charges after the Constitutional Court dismissed a complaint he made over the speed with which charges were filed against him.

In mid-April, Kažimír was found guilty of corruption in a 2018 bribery case and was ordered to pay a fine.

He appealed and, while appealing, he tried to get the case thrown
out by asking Prosecutor General Maroš Žilinka to apply Article 363 of the Criminal Code which would cancel the charge against him.

But while Žilinka was considering this, prosecutors filed bribery charges in a different court - the Specialised Criminal Court - which meant that the prosecutor general could not use Article 363, and that a trial would have to go ahead in the Specialised Criminal Court.

Kažimír then complained to the Constitutional Court that his rights had been breached, in part because of the speed with which prosecutors filed the case with the Specialised Criminal Court.