SaS: Former NCZI Chief Suspect of Crime Involving €18 million

Bratislava, March 31 (TASR) – Former director of the National Centre of Health Information (NCZI) Igor Servacek could have committed a crime involving a contract worth almost €18 million on the delivery of an information system for chip insurance cards, Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) stated on Thursday.

New Health Minister Tomas Drucker (Smer-SD nominee) has already ordered the contract to be scrapped.

“We call on relevant law enforcement authorities to begin to act based on information published in the media,” said SaS vice-chairman Lubomir Galko, noting that Servacek gave a green light to the contract despite disagreement by IT experts and the Finance Ministry. Galko conceded that his party itself may file a criminal complaint.

The contract with Plaut Slovensko was signed last week. It stipulates that if the contract is later cancelled by NCZI, the company will be entitled to paid out in full, i.e. €17.8 million, write SME daily.

“Servacek has terminated his work contract following a mutual agreement with Health Minister Tomas Drucker. All other technical issues are currently being dealt with,” said ministry spokesperson Zuzana Cizmarikova.

Drucker told SME that he wasn’t considering to pay any compensation to the company.

Making public officials personally liable for their mistakes was a recurring theme in the March 5 general election.