Former head of the special unit of the Anti-Corruption Office (UBPK), Jan Rejda, who was the first to admit openly that the Gorilla operation had taken place, has now confirmed that copies of the actual recordings probably exist and that they have been used in the past by secret service agents from the SIS to blackmail those incriminated by the recordings.
The recordings themselves could prove to be a crucial piece of the jigsaw in investigating the Gorilla affair, which points an accusing finger at top politicians for having been in cahoots with financial group Penta in privatisation deals and tenders.
Speaking on TA3 news channel, Rejda, who has received threats since speaking openly about Gorilla, said that copies of the recordings were made by SIS agents so they could use them to blackmail those involved. Rejda also confirmed that former economy minister Jirko Malcharek had indeed been in the flat owned by Penta partner Jaroslava Hascak, where the Gorilla meetings were recorded. He claims Malcharek had been there several times, even before he became minister of economy.
So, we know that the Gorilla operation took place, that recordings were made, that top politicians and other state officials had gone to the flat, but even so, everyone involved is denying the authenticity of what is outlined in the reports and even staying hush about whether or not they had been to the flat in question or not.
If a copy of the recordings were to surface, though, and more importantly if they were admissible in the investigation, the old political order in the country could come crumbling down. The allegations concern privatisation deals, for instance, under the second government of Mikulas Dzurinda, who still adamantly refutes the claims made in the Gorilla reports.
Rejda pointed out that as prime minister at the time, Dzurinda must have been aware of the Gorilla reports and their content because the SIS reports such cases to the Prime Minister. “All outputs from the SIS go through the Prime Minister” Rejda explained.
Rejda was involved in the wiretapping of the flat in question in connection with suspicions of criminal activities involving SIS agents. He has had his oath of secrecy removed and so has now given his testimony on about what he knows about the Gorilla claims. Rejda also kept copies of certain documents that had been shredded prematurely.
Rejda has become the target of threats ever since he announced that he had certain documents and information regarding the affair, with pressure also being put on some of his relatives. For example, Rejda claimed that his brother Marian and his wife, who both work at the National Security Bureau (NBU), were told by their superiors that they were harming the bureau’s reputation because of the affair. Rejda’s brother subsequently overturned these claims, though.
The Gorilla affair might be a big jigsaw puzzle to piece together, but piece by piece an image is now starting to appear that is becoming increasingly difficult for those involved to deny. The secret service agents who allegedly tried to use the recordings to blackmail could now easily try to trade them off once again, though, meaning proving the authenticity of what was actually said in the infamous flat in Bratislava will be a hard nut to crack.