Court trial on TV Markíza promissory notes adjourned

A senate of the Specialised Criminal Court in Pezinok has adjourned until September the main trial of former economy minister and erstwhile TV Markíza director Pavol Rusko, concerning alleged fake promissory notes against Markíza worth €70 million in total. A co-charged figure in this defraudation case is also the businessman Marián Kočner, currently in custody. Markíza's lawyer Daniel Lipšic, a former justice minister, said that the six-day trial in late July had "significantly deepened the evidence situation against Pavol R. and Marian K.". Transcripts of alleged encrypted chat conversations between Marián K. and his associates were not read out at the trial in late July, and it is not certain whether they will be used as evidence. The chats were found during the investigation into the 2018 murders of journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée. Marián K. is accused of ordering those murders. According to Lipšic, these transcripts provide evidence of the existence of a criminal group that includes police officers, prosecutors and judges, many of whom are still holding their posts.