Slovakia’s central bank governor given reprieve in corruption case

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

Slovakia’s central bank governor Peter Kažimír has been spared from facing trial for alleged bribery because of reforms to the penal code introduced by his old political ally Prime Minister Robert Fico.

Slovakia’s Supreme Court delivered a last minute reprieve to the central banker on Thursday, ruling that his case was covered by Fico’s revisions to the statute of limitations that critics have denounced as weakening the rule of law.

Prosecutors had accused Kažimír of playing the role of intermediary in a bribe paid to a former senior tax official at a time when Kažimír was finance minister in a previous Fico administration.

Kažimír was then appointed as governor of the National Bank of Slovakia in 2019, putting him on the European Central Bank’s main interest rate-setting body. Before switching from Fico’s cabinet to central bank governor, Kažimír was also a senior member of Fico’s ruling Smer party.

Fico’s coalition government earlier this year pushed through reforms to significantly reduce the penalties for crimes ranging from theft to corruption and fraud, as well as restricting the time period allowed to bring prosecutions.

The Supreme Court’s decision on Thursday confirmed this applied to the prosecution of Kažimír, over-ruling a lower court judge who found that he should still stand trial because the case was opened before Fico overhauled the code.

The changes were part of a broader judicial overhaul that also involved Fico closing an anti-corruption prosecutor’s office. The European Commission forced Fico’s lawmakers to alter the criminal code again in July, but only to restore prison terms and other serious penalties for crimes involving EU funds. 

Kažimír has repeatedly denied wrongdoing. His lawyer, Ondrej Mularčík, told the Financial Times on Thursday that “the decision of the Supreme Court has unified the divergent views on the statute of limitations in the Slovak Republic”. As a result, he added, “the prosecution of Mr Kažimír is time-barred”. 

Slovakia’s then Prime Minister Eduard Heger as well as pro-EU President Zuzana Čaputová had urged Kažimír to resign last year after a judge fined him for his role in the bribery case. But Kažimír rejected the calls for him to step down and appealed the court decision.

The Supreme Court decision is also set to offer a reprieve to other prominent defendants with ties to Fico. Among them is Peter Žiga, the deputy speaker of parliament and former economy minister, who has also been fighting charges for bribery that he has denied.