Slovak Police Accuse Elite Investigators of Abuse of Power in Prime Minister Fico and His Government Corruption Case

Slovakia's police inspectorate has charged prosecutor Michal Šurek and the former head of Slovakia's elite police unit NAKA, Lubomir Danko, with abuse of power, along with two former police investigators.

All of them had previously worked on a corruption case codenamed Purgatory, in which Prime Minister Robert Fico, Defence Minister Robert Kaliniak, former national police chief Tibor Gaspar and other senior officials were suspected of corruption and manipulation of police investigations.

Danko, who denies the allegations, told the Slovak daily Denník N that he was falsely accused.

According to the prosecution, detectives made procedural errors during the investigation, such as recording police interrogations in the wrong file. If proven guilty in court, they face 7 to 12 years in prison.

During Fico's fourth term in office, his government dismantled the Office of the Special Prosecutor, which was tasked with investigating EU budget fraud and high-profile corruption cases, including Purgatory. The European Commission and the European Public Prosecutor's Office had previously urged Slovakia not to close the office.

A recent EU executive rule of law report on Slovakia, published on Wednesday, said the move ‘raises concerns about the effective fight against corruption and the protection of EU financial interests’ in Slovakia. The Commission also warned Bratislava that the country risks losing EU funding.

Among the indicted officials, Prosecutor Šurek is the only one who continues to work on the Purgatory investigation. Critics fear that the charges may be an attempt to remove him from the case.