The opposition Smer party said it respects the decision of the Special Prosecutor's Office to halt the investigation into the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union’s (SDKÚ) financial practices even while stating that it reserves its own opinion on the matter, Smer spokesperson Silvia Glendová told the TASR newswire on January 5, adding that the party will not comment further on the decision made by Special Prosecutor Ján Sant.
According to Sant, SDKÚ fully backed up its claims that it received and repaid a loan in a standard manner by submitting relevant accounting documents and annual reports. It was Smer chairman Robert Fico who alleged in early 2010 that SDKÚ had engaged in shady financing practices, stating that Mikuláš Dzurinda's party was laundering dirty money.
SDKÚ described Fico's statements as an attack viewed toward the parliamentary election. The controversy culminated with Dzurinda taking his name off the party slate for the election in June. This opened the way for incumbent Prime Minister Iveta Radičová to become the party's election leader following primary elections.
Smer faced similar accusations of shady financing in June. A recording dating back several years surfaced featuring a voice deemed to be similar to Fico's boasting about securing millions of Slovak crowns for the party. The investigation into that case was halted by Special Prosecutor Dušan Kováčik.
Source: TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
