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Prosecutor to Act on Smer Sponsorship Claims if Criminal Action Is Filed
Wednesday 19 May 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, May 19 (TASR) - Prosecutor-General Dobroslav Trnka said on Wednesday that his Office won't act on fresh allegations made by former senior member of Smer-SD Bohumil Hanzel in an interview for SME daily about the creation of the party until Hanzel himself files criminal action on the matter.
Hanzel's claims concern nefarious sponsorship methods in which he himself was engaged while co-founding Smer.
"The Prosecutor's Office won't be drawn into the election campaign unless a criminal complaint is filed," said Trnka, who noted that earlier this year he didn't act on allegations of shady funding involving the opposition SDKU-DS party until a criminal complaint was lodged against it.
SME daily editors may lodge a complaint themselves providing that they are in possession of the evidence mentioned in the paper.
Hanzel, who quit the party in 2006, is quoted as saying in SME on Wednesday that he has seen a notary-authenticated copy of an agreement between Smer and five sponsors concerning specified places in the Smer candidate list. He also said that he in person attended many meetings with sponsors who provided some Sk60 million (€1.99 million) to the party in 2000-02.
Smer chairman Robert Fico is also said to have solicited sponsors for the party. "All official agreements were processed through then general manager of the party Igor Federic. Fico has always arranged it so that only what is essential is put on record," said Hanzel regarding the 2002 election campaign.
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