BRATISLAVA, February 16, (WEBNOVINY) – Justice Minister Lucia Zitnanska (SDKU-DS) has definitively confirmed sanctions for the appraiser that set the price of platinum mesh sold by the State Material Reserves Administration below the market price. Reasoning her decision on the appeal against a first-instance court verdict, the minister said she believes that the harshest sanction, the exclusion from the register of appraisers, plus a fine is legitimate in this case. The appraiser was fined the maximum possible amount of 1,200 euro. Zitnanska says she made the decision following a thorough analysis of the case. “This case undermines the trust of the public in appraising,” she added. The ministry wanted to send a signal that mistakes will not be tolerated. The punished appraiser should have invited a consultant specialized in the given field, for instance.
Zitnanska reminded that the Justice Ministry is authorized to act in relation to legal professions not exclusively to judges. This also includes drawing consequences for various mistakes.
In November, a scandalous sale of close to seven kilos of platinum mesh to a private company well below the market price shook the State Material Reserves Administration. It should have earned much more from the sale. The head of the State Material Reserves Administration Eva Hrinkova, nominated by SDKU-DS eventually submitted her resignation over the scandal and the Cabinet recalled her subsequently.
SITA