The Opposition have begun collecting the signatures needed to convene an extraordinary session to dismiss Economy Minister Pavol Pavlis, as Pavlis's line of argumentation at the session of the parliamentary committee for economic affairs when defending himself against accusations of a conflict of interest has failed to convince them that he was speaking the truth. The minister supposedly failed to say where he acquired Sk600,000 (€20,000) paid as legal fees in order to allow a company called Port Service to continue its legal battle against the state and seek €60 million in compensation. "He didn't answer because he couldn't and didn't want to. Yesterday, he lied at a press conference when he claimed that he had to deposit the sum on behalf of someone else because he was the firm's legal representative," said NOVA party leader Daniel Lipšic, adding that anyone can send money to anyone else's bank account. Lipšic pointed out that a financial statement of Port Service in 2006 recorded a short-term loan from Pavol Pavlis. The minister claimed that the accounting books were filled out correctly, but the accountant made a mistake in her note. According to Igor Matovič (Ordinary People/OLaNO), Pavlis either "cooked the books" or registered his firm in tax haven, has become the Economy Minister and now is involved in a lawsuit against his own firm. "There is a grave suspicion not only of conflict of interest but maybe even the violation of the fight against money laundering," concluded Lipšic.
TASR
