Slovak arrested in Mali allegedly free

According to official information, former member of the Slovak Intelligence Service (SIS) Ľuboš Kosík is in a prison in Mali and only a few signatures are lacking for his extradition to Slovakia, Interior Minister Denisa Saková (Smer-SD) said after a Government session on Tuesday. However, Saková admitted that Mali is a risky country. "Perhaps, the information that Malian top representatives are giving us on a continuous basis is true," she said. Kosík's release from prison in Mali was reported on Wednesday, November 14 by the SME daily, which stated that this information has been confirmed by Kosík himself. Kosík was in prison for two years after an international arrest warrant was issued against him for allegedly falsifying promissory notes worth €2.4 million. He was surprised at his release. "They opened the door and said that was the end of it," Kosík told SME. The police subsequently wrote on a social network that the most senior representatives of the Malian police confirmed to Police Corps President Milan Lučanský that Kosík hadn't been released from the Malian jail. Kosík has long claimed that he's willing to provide testimony on the 1995 kidnapping of former President Michal Kováč's son by the Slovak Intelligence Service and on other cases concerning former SIS members. Kosík was originally sentenced to 14 years in prison and a fine of €100,000, but he immediately escaped. As he didn't pay the money, the Specialised Criminal Court (STS) in Pezinok (Bratislava region) sentenced him to another four years on Monday, November 12. The verdict hasn't come into effect yet, and it will be decided on by the Supreme Court, as Kosík's lawyer has appealed against it.