In an attempt to prevent yet another embarrassment for Slovakia in the face of the world’s sporting community, Prime Minister Iveta Radicova has decided to resolve the dubious financing surrounding the European biathlon championships.
On 10 August the government decided to freeze the funding for the 2012 IBU Open European Championships Biathlon over suspicions of corrupt practices, where three people have already been charged with indirect corruption by accepting some EUR 30,000 in bribes in July. That could well be just the tip of the iceberg, though.
The PM’s advisor for the economy, Martin Novotny, is also suspected of being involved in the bribery case, and so he was dismissed by the PM last week. Now the PM wants to sign a contract with the Slovak Biathlon Association subject to a new contractor being chosen for the construction work and provided everything is totally transparent.
The championships are set to take place at the Osrblie resort near Brezno, with the government to put up around EUR 1.6 million for the reconstruction of the venue.