Last week, Slovak anti-corruption police conducted a series of raids under the codename Operation Colombia, targeting properties in the Košice and Zvolen regions in connection with a suspected multi-million-euro fraud involving EU funds. The case centres on a project allegedly aimed at combating climate change, but investigators now believe it involved significant overcharging and misrepresentation, reports The Slovak Spectator’s sister publication Korzár.
The project, initiated by the self-governing Košice Region (KSK), was promoted as a pioneering water retention scheme in forests near the towns of Gelnica and Dobšiná in eastern Slovakia. Touted as an environmental success story, it was even showcased by KSK governor Rastislav Trnka at a UN biodiversity conference in Colombia last October – a likely inspiration for the police operation’s codename.
However, police now allege that the project’s reported scale and impact were grossly exaggerated and that full payment was made to the contractor despite most of the work not being completed. Authorities estimate damages of nearly €3.5 million to the European Union budget and over €400,000 to the Slovak state.
