In Slovakia, the head of the Central Bank charged with corruption

Member of the Board of the European Central Bank and the head of the Slovak Central Bank, Petr Kazimir, is charged, informs Reuters citing the Slovak prosecutor’s office.

“On October 8, the prosecutor of the Special Prosecutor’s Office brought charges against Pyotr Kazimir for crimes related to corruption,” said Yana Tokoleva, spokeswoman for the Special Prosecutor’s Office.

On Tuesday, 53-year-old Pyotr Kazimir said he was not involved in the offenses.

President Zuzana Chaputova said on Wednesday that Casimir should consider resigning after initiating an investigation against him.

“This is a serious accusation, and if it is true, then, of course, he should not remain in his post,” Finance Minister Igor Matovich agreed with the President.

Casimir was charged in a case involving an alleged bribe for the former head of the country’s tax service. Sources aktuality.sk told about this.

The lawyer of the head of the Central Bank, Ondrej Mularchik, confirmed that Kazimir was accused of bribery, and he will appeal this decision. According to the lawyer, the official faces a five-year term of imprisonment.

Petr Kazimir was finance minister from 2012 to 2019 before taking over as head of the Central Bank. The head of the tax service was appointed by Kazimir in 2012 and remained in office until 2018, writes “European Truth”.

According to the law, the head of the Central Bank is appointed by the President of Slovakia, and the candidate for this post is nominated by the government and approved by the parliament. The head of the Central Bank can be dismissed if he ceases to meet a number of criteria. These include the absence of a criminal record.

A member of the board of the European Central Bank may be removed from office if evidence is presented that he has committed a serious misconduct.

The Slovak government, formed in March 2020, has launched a series of anti-corruption investigations after political crisiscaused by the murder of journalist Jan Kuchak. Killers shot and killed Kuchak and his fiancée in February 2018. The journalist was investigating the connections of Slovak politicians with the Italian mafia.