Opposition MPs Igor Matovič, Daniel Lipšic and Ľubomír Gaľko announced on Wednesday that they have filed a criminal complaint against an unknown perpetrator concerning the restructuring of the construction company Váhostav-SK. This comes in reaction to the fact that the company Váhostav is planning to pay 15 percent of the money it owes to fellow construction companies and self-employed individuals. Meanwhile, secured creditors, notably banks, should see their claims settled in full. This comes from a proposed restructuring plan that the trustee has drawn up in conjunction with Váhostav itself. A committee of creditors was given 15 days as of Monday to approve or reject the plan. In all, Váhostav is set to clear some 32 percent of its outstanding debt. The firm's total debt stands at over €136 million. It envisaged that Váhostav will begin to pay off its debt next year. Váhostav has blamed its financial distress primarily on the cancellation of highway construction via a public-private (PPP) funding scheme and thus the loss of key commission and on the problematic highway projects in the north and east of Slovakia, although it company claimed in mid-February that these will be fully completed.
According to opposition MP Daniel Lipšic, Váhostav's statutory body has obviously committed several crimes, including deliberate bankruptcy, damaging creditors, preferential treatment of creditors and fraud that could mean imprisonment for ten years. According to MP Igor Matovič a company that's aware that it's unable to pay its liabilities can't choose which creditors will see their claims settled. Separately, the Christian Democrats (KDH) have also announced that they are filing a complaint with the Prosecutor-General's Office concerning alleged damaging of creditors. "Váhostav -SK has had long term public commissions from the state, with the state paying the company with taxpayers' money," noted Pavol Zajac of the Christian Democrats.
