Kalinak: Payments to My Accounts Related to My Stake in B.A. Haus

Bratislava, June 13 (TASR) – Interior Minister Robert Kalinak on Monday stated that all payments that came to his accounts from B.A. Haus originated from the company’s economic activities, with him being a shareholder.

Speaking further at a press conference, Kalinak said that he had an offer to buy the stake in B.A Haus in 2013 from outgoing shareholder Ladislav Basternak, and took a €500,000-loan in Tatra Banka for the purpose. He allegedly eventually spent something more than €430,000 for the stake.

“The company owns two flats where I’m living, and it seemed to me a good opportunity to gain control of flats in the neighbourhood,” said Kalinak. He added that as the company didn’t have any business with the state, it appeared to him as a legitimate deal.

The minister reiterated that he has never received any money from Basternak or his companies.

According to Kalinak, B.A. Haus, as a company active on the real estate market “has its turnover, it’s doing well in settling its liabilities and there’s an assumption that it could get into black figures in the future”. It has three stakeholders, one of them being former finance and transport minister Jan Pociatek.

Filip Rybanic, an assistant to Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) MP Jozef Rajtar and employee of Tatra Banka, took a look at Kalinak’s and Pociatek’s bank accounts allegedly revealing links to Basternak, who is being investigated by police for tax fraud. Rybanic was later arrested and charged with violating bank secrecy but he has not been detained.