Corruption allegations at state-run company MH Development have led to charges against the former director of the company, while Parliamentary Chairman Pavol Paska has sent a letter to the Supreme Audit Authority (NKU) to conduct an audit at the company, meaning the government can keep the investigation close to its chest rather than it being done more independently.
The company MH Development, which falls under the Ministry of Economy, mediates property sales and so on, making it the perfect channel for selling off state assets on the cheap, for instance. The investigation into the company comes after opposition MPs led by Miroslav Beblavy petitioned for action in parliament.
Paska played down the petition as for political show, while the Smer-SD MPs rejected the extraordinary session agenda. This means the Supreme Audit Authority does not even have to take action based on Paska’s letter, a possible tactical move on Paska’s part keeping the affair close to home, as an initiative from a parliamentary session would have been mandatory for the authority.
The former director of the company is up on charges but ironically, the Ministry of Economy now plans to merge the company with another state-run company MH Invest, which itself has been at the centre of various dubious transactions for years, as reported by TheDaily in several cases dating back to September 2010. The merged companies should then fall under the Slovak investment agency SARIO.