Outgoing economy minister Juraj Miskov confirmed at a press conference yesterday that the Slovak confidence trickster who pretended to be from the Ministry had raked in a total of EUR 4.2 million from a total of eight Austrian companies.
The imposter convinced the gullible Austrian companies that they were contributing to a euro-project for a fictitious EUR 127 million project in Levice. The companies thought they had received notification from the Ministry of Economy on its headed paper (but no stamp), with payments being made via an association set up in Austria called Bau Arge Levice.
Minister Miskov pointed out that although the case will cause no material loss for Slovakia, it has damaged “the country’s good name in the eyes of foreign investors”. Miskov was speaking after a meeting with the Austrian Embassy, which seeks chiefly to catch the conman and return the money to the aggrieved companies.
Georg m- exactly, what good name!!.
in transparency international corruption index (2001) Slovakia lies at no 66 (and sinking), below south Africa ,Turkey, and Cuba, and just above Ghana.
Absolutely disgraceful, These corrupt money grabbing mandarins, rob the slovak nation, of a hospital here, a school there, and decent university funding, there strangling the country from the inside out..
sorry, transparency index 2011……
Could not agree more. What “good” reputation. Same old circus but just a different tent…..
Could not agree more George!
“the country’s good name in the eyes of foreign investors”.
Well Huh ????? The country does not have a good name in the eyes of foreign investors, just those who get tax breaks and incentives ( ie Bribes) to open up shop here . People like me, some friends and some major firms have already voted with their feet and moved shop to another less corrupt country .