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Dzurinda: Sorry, But We Can't Answer All Questions About Financing
Tuesday 26 January 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, January 26 (TASR) - Strongest opposition party SDKU-DS is not able to answer all journalists' questions about the party's financing at the beginning of its existence a decade ago, said SDKU-DS head Mikulas Dzurinda at a press conference in Bratislava on Tuesday – adding that he's sorry about this, as he would like to furnish proof that the party has always been above board.
Dzurinda said this in response to accusations made on Friday by Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD), who suggested that SDKU was engaged in some shady financial dealings in 2004 and 2005, using shell companies and foreign bank accounts.
At the same time, Dzurinda said that his party has always acted in accordance with the law. He noted that in the times of the financial obligations emerged (in 2000), publishing sponsors and creditors was not mandatory yet. "It was us who passed laws which made party financing more transparent. In addition, we have a regulation in the SDKU-DS statutes concerning financing that is stricter that the actual law," he said, adding that he personally was never interested in party financing. "I'm responsible for the party, but I was never involved in business-wise," he explained.
According to Dzurinda, as a person can mature so can a political party. "We've paid for our mistakes from the past in 2002 and in 2006. But since 2006, SDKU-DS's financing is meeting the strictest criteria, there is no patrons standing behind us," he said in summation. Dzurinda also claimed that "it is clear and undoubted that we have borrowed money and repaid it ... not impairing the state for a single heller".
Dzurinda considers Fico's accusation to be an "extraordinarily despicable construct", the main goal of which is to criminalise SDKU-DS and to divert the focus from Government's scandals. Fico on Friday accused SDKU-DS of striking a shady deal with a company called Soul, which he labelled a "garage firm" [a reference to what the controversial company Interblue that has been involved in selling surplus C02 emission quotas – ed. note].
"In light of the connections between SDKU-DS and Soul ... In light of SDKU-DS nominees' bank accounts and companies operating in tax havens, using Swiss banks, it's possible to infer ... that illegal funds have been used in financing SDKU-DS party activities. There's also a suspicion that money laundering took place," said Fico on Friday.
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