The Supreme Court decided on May 30 to uphold the Special Court's decision to convict and give 11.5-year prison sentences to Vladimír Fruni and František Matik, the former owners of the bankrupt pyramid schemes Horizont Slovakia and B.M.G. Invest.
The Special Court found Fruni guilty of illegal business conduct, of violating rules on financial relations, and of fraud on January 10, 2007.
Matik, who was found guilty in absentia of various charges relating to Horizont Slovakia and B.M.G. Invest, is still on the run, and is being hunted by Interpol.
The two unlicensed investment funds concerned went bankrupt in 2002, leaving around 170,000 clients (with 850,000 contracts) out of pocket to the tune of some Sk14.5 billion (€426.2 million).
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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