The Supreme Court senate sentenced the former ministers of construction and regional development Marian Janušek and Igor Štefanov, who represented the Slovak National Party (SNS) in Robert Fico's first government (2006-10), to 11 and 9 years in jail, respectively, over corruption.
The court found both men guilty of machinations in public tenders and abuse of public official powers. Neither of the former ministers was present in person to hear the verdict, as they had given their lawyers permission for court sessions to take place in their absence. Had they been present in the courtroom, members of the Prison and Judicial Guard Corps would have escorted them directly to jail. The sentence is to be carried out in a minimum security facility, furthermore, they were given fines of €30,000. If they do not pay the sum, their sentence is to be increased by one year. Both were given a five-year ban on holding public office. The Supreme Court thus reaffirmed to a large extent the verdict by the Specialised Criminal Court in Pezinok from last year, and only reduced Janušek's punishment from 12 to 11 years.
The case goes back to 2007, when the Construction Ministry announced a public tender on a notice board located in a closed hallway in the ministry building, hence preventing other potential bidders from participating. The only entrant and, therefore, tender winner was a consortium of firms called Avocat and Zamedia, both affiliated with the then Slovak National Party leader Ján Slota, which thus made a profit of €3.5 million. According to the court, the damage caused to the state was quantified at €12.7 million.
The senate chair's closing speech to explain the verdict lasted for more than an hour. "It must be underlined that the activities of the defendants completely thwarted the public tender," said the judge. The notice board tender traumatised society for a long time. "Therefore, we have imposed such a punishment to deter (others in future)." The verdict is valid, with no option of appeal.
The now sentenced Marian Janušek was running for the post of mayor of Žilina, northern Slovakia, in the municipal elections held last weekend. Back in 2009, the government led by the then Prime Minister Robert Fico refused the opposition proposal to recall Igor Štefanov from his post as Minister, claiming that it found the reasons for this move as false, deliberate and misleading.
