BRATISLAVA, May 31, (WEBNOVINY) — The police have charged former Construction and Regional Development Minister Igor Stefanov (SNS), a member of the first government of Robert Fico from 2009 to 2010 with complicity in the crime of machination in public procurement and a public auction. So far, four people have been charged in the infamous so-called „notice board“ tender while the ex-minister is the fifth suspect. If proven guilty the ex-minister may end up behind bars for 7-12 years . The five charged persons including ex-minister and Stefanov’s party colleague Miroslav Janusek have not been taken into custody, police spokeswoman Denisa Baloghova informed.
The police allege that the five accused in cooperation with other yet not identified persons tailor made an EUR 97 million tender for the supply of various legal and advertising services in 2008 that was to be co-financed by EU funds. They arranged things so that the call for submitting bids was published only at a internal notice board at the Construction Ministry and was sent to three companies of which two SNS-friendly companies Avocat and Zamedia formed a consortium that submitted the winning bid. Stefanov served as a senior official at the Construction and Regional Development Ministry at the time when the tender was announced and later replaced his party mate Marian Janusek who had to go over the overpriced tender.
SITA