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Slovenian Prime Minister indicted for abuse of power in real estate deals

Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa has been indicted on suspicion of abuse of power in real estate deals in the early 2000s. Jansa can be sentenced to eight years of imprisonment.

According to the Vecer daily newspaper, the crime dates back to 2005, during Jansa’s first stint as prime minister.  He is charged of illegally benefiting from a real estate deal related to the purchase of an apartment in Ljubljana.

In 1992, Jansa bought land in the Trenta Valley in the Alps for 350,000 tolar (Slovenian currency before entering the eurozone) and sold it in 2005 for 31.4 million tolar (€131,000), nearly nine times the price he paid. Then Eurogradnja company, which bought the land, sold it two months months later to Imos company for €146,000. In the same year, Imos sold an apartment in Ljubljana to Jansa for €236,100.

The prosecution claims Eurogradnje paid €100,000 more for the land than it was worth, which was then factored into the price of the apartment. As a result, the head Eurogradnja and Imos companies also are suspects in the case of corruption.

The Prime Minister is not familiar with the contents of the indictment, Bloomberg reports, citing the press secretary Jansa.

At the same time, Jansa has repeatedly denied allegations of misconduct in his dealings with real estate.

Janez Jansa served as Prime Minister of Slovenia from 2004 to 2008, from 2012 to 2013 and since March 2020. In 2014, the politician was sentenced to two years in prison on corruption charges, but a year later, the Slovenian Constitutional Court released him.

Jansa returned to power earlier this year by poaching parties from former Prime Minister Marjan Sarec’s ruling coalition when the latter resigned in a botched attempt at consolidating his popularity by triggering early elections.