This material belongs to: The Slovak Spectator.
The prosecutor’s office does not find his business with tax fraud suspect suspicious.
The police will not investigate the business of Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák and former transport minister Ján Počiatek with tax fraud suspect Ladislav Bašternák as corruption.
There is no proof to launch an investigation, Deputy Prosecutor General Peter Šufliarsky told the Denník N daily after reading the investigation file.
“We cannot look at the matter from the political and journalistic point but from the expert one,” Šufliarsky told the daily, adding that it is not the task of the General Prosecutor’s Office to provide the moral evaluation of its business.
Dubious transaction
The case concerns the transfer of shares of the B. A. Haus company, which was established in 2008. It was founded by Počiatek, Bašternák and Marek Turčan, a lawyer known for doing business with Kaliňák. Over three years, Bašternák put a total of €850,000 registered as loans into the company. Počiatek also lent €315,000 to the firm.
Bašternák decided to sell his 34-percent stock in the company in October 2013. He sold 17 percent to Kaliňák and another 17 percent to Počiatek. They paid some €8,000.
However, the real estate broker estimated the value of the shares at €600,000 to €1 million. Since Počiatek already owned some shares, he became the majority shareholder in B. A. Haus. The rest of the shares are now owned by Kaliňák and Turčan, Denník N wrote.
Bašternák also sold his loan in the company to Kaliňák and Počiatek, dividing it in half. Kaliňák even took a loan from Tatra Banka to purchase the loan. This transaction was later noticed by Filip Rybanič, MP assistant of Jozef Rajtár from Freedom and Solidarity (SaS), who is currently facing prosecution for divulging bank secrets.
No actions from the prosecutor’s office
Although the transaction resembles a business more than a gift, the prosecutor’s office will not begin an investigation. There is no proof that Kaliňák or Počiatek would do something for the businessman in return, according to Denník N.
The General Prosecutor’s Office closed the case without ordering an expert opinion to assess the value of the stock purchased by Kaliňák. The interior minister claims that he paid the real price, which is improbable considering the value of the real estate.
Šufliarsky says that the expert opinion would be more than required by its respective law, Denník N wrote.
Bašternák, meanwhile, faces accusations of tax fraud after receiving excessive VAT refunds from the state for the purchase of flats, for which he allegedly paid €12 million in cash.
