Public procurement tenders worth €200 million held by ROA, a previously unknown firm based in Horné Plachtince, first looked like a classic example of siphoning off state funds; but now they seem to involve the SIS intelligence service, the Sme daily reported on May 2.
Sme wrote that Ján Feranc, who now controls the procurement agency in question, used to work for the secret service. The Trend weekly reported that Feranc earlier joined Daniel Lipšic's New Majority (NOVA) party. When asked by Sme, NOVA confirmed that Feranc had been a member but said that it had expelled him a week earlier. District head of NOVA Pavol Nemec nominated Feranc for membership. NOVA deputy chairman Gábor Grendel hinted to Sme that Nemec too was an intelligence service officer. Nemec did not reveal whether he had worked for the SIS, but he was the manager of a military hospital where SIS officers are treated. Lipšic said Feranc's activities were a ‘provocation’ by ex-SIS members.
Sources: Sme, Trend
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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