Another criminal prosecution started in connection with the investigation of the so-called Gorilla case of alleged political corruption. According to the head of the investigation team, the prosecution concerns the privatisation of the Slovak power utility Slovenské elektrárne (SE ). In January the daily Pravda reported that it should concern its sale to the Italian company Enel during the second government of Mikuláš Dzurinda. The unconfirmed secret service file codenamed Gorilla which was leaked to the public, according to this source does not directly mention these facts. An investigator from the Gorilla team reportedly obtained the information from questioning and from the documents he now has.
Pravda wrote that with regard to the character of the prosecution and that the circumstances that the Gorilla file describes concern the years 2005 and 2006, the prosecution could involve the privatisation of Slovenské elektrárne. The daily notes that in 2005, former Finance Minister Ivan Mikloš was involved in an agreement based on which after the privatisation of SE Slovakia would not get dividends from the company until 2010 so that financing of the Mochovce nuclear plant completion would be secured, but without binding deadlines. The Italians, however, were late with the completion, and so already the first government of Robert Fico agreed to waive the dividends until 2014, and in January after pressure from the Italians it agreed to move it further to 2017. Slovakia will thus be without dividends probably for at least twelve years after the privatization of SE. Mikloš let the daily know through his parliamentary assistant that even after the announcement of a further postponement of the payment of a share of profit he insists that the privatisation of a majority stake in SE was the right move.
According to Pravda, it is apparent that Dzurinda’s second government miscalculated matters in the privatisation deal. It left its dividends to Italian Enel from profit earned what Slovakia would otherwise receive being a 34-percent shareholder. The Cabinet then estimated that it leaves for Enel for the years 2006 to 2010 a total of about €33 million. Now, however, it turns out that the state waived a sum exceeding €300 million. After power prices increased, the profit of the company rose sharply, which was assumed prior to the sale, but Mikloš says he had no hints about this in 2005. Before Mikloš, former Economy Minister Pavol Rusko was adjusting the terms of sale of the company. After Mikloš, the transaction in which Slovakia received more than €1 billion for a 66 percent stake in the company was formally fine-tuned by former Economy Minister Jirko Malchárek.
Anca Dragu
