NITRA, April 15, (WEBNOVINY) — The company Nitra Invest, which is at the center of a political scandal, has sent to the Tax Directorate of the Slovak Republic a letter announcing its withdrawal from contract concerning the lease of the building of the Tax Office in Kosice. The company’s authorized representative Ondrej Scurka explains the step by not wanting to connect the government of Iveta Radicova, the SDKU-DS party and his person with any suspicions of irregularities. Scurka further wrote in a statement provided to SITA news agency that he respected the decision of the prime minister, the finance minister and head of the Tax Directorate to announce a new public competition for the lease as “the method of market survey, which the effective law allows, is being cast into doubt.” The company Nitra Invest is prepared to submit its bid to the Tax Directorate in line with the conditions of the announced public tender, as it sure is the most advantageous one. “In the process of selection of a building for the Tax Office in Kosice, the government saved 3.5 million euros compared with the decision of the government of Robert Fico. The entire process was carried out in line with effective laws and the decision was the most economical for the state,” Scurka added. In order to eliminate doubts concerning the transparency of ownership of the firm, he has accepted the offer of Nitra Invest minority partner, the Cypriot-based TPE Holding I to buy back its twenty percent share. Thus, Ondrej Scurka will be the only owner of Nitra Invest.
Opposition SMER-SD leader Robert Fico accused Director of the Tax Directorate Miroslav Mikulcik, appointed by Minister of Finance Ivan Miklos, of securing a multi-million euro deal for regional head of SDKU-DS in Nitra Ondrej Scurko, namely the lease of the building for the Tax Office in Kosice, for which the Tax Directorate is to pay almost EUR 6.6 million to Scurko’s company Nitra Invest over five years. Fico claims that this is a perfect example of cronyism and Finance Minister Miklos should therefore resign. Fico added that it was very probable that part of this sum would end up in SDKU’s purse. In his reaction to Fico’s accusations, Miklos stated that the change in the building’s lease was conducted completely in accordance with the law and that the current management of the Tax Office signed a more advantageous lease compared to the planned lease prepared under Robert Fico; it would save EUR 700,000 every year, i.e. EUR 3.5 million in total over the five years based on the new contract.
SITA