Fico Rejects Kiska's Allegations of Blackmail

Bratislava, February 22 (TASR) – Smer-SD chair Robert Fico rejects allegations of blackmail raised against him by President Andrej Kiska, TASR learnt on Friday.

Speaking at a press conference, Fico claimed that he hadn’t even been aware that any charges would be pressed against an official of KTAG, a firm affiliated with Kiska.

According to Fico, President Kiska is a fraudster and liar, although calling upon him to resign is largely moot now, seeing as the next presidential election is slated only a month away.

“Accusing a constitutional official, lawmaker and chairman of the most popular political party of pulling the strings of police and the prosecutor’s office as well as having these institutions at his beck and call, making them press charges against a specific individual within 24 hours with a simple phone call, is quite something,” Fico responded.

Fico expects law enforcement bodies to make a statement on Kiska’s allegations and reject them. “There’s no proof; no communication exists between me, Smer-SD party and any law enforcement body on the case,” he said.

Fico emphasised that if Kiska feels aggrieved, he should have filed a criminal complaint and not publicly presented his objections after the criminal prosecution over tax crimes was launched against him and his closest people. “If anyone influenced law enforcement bodies, it was Mr. President,” stressed Fico, adding that the 2014 presidential race was “neither clean nor fair”.

KTAG official identified due to legal reasons only as Eduard K. faces charges of illegitimate VAT refunds worth €155,633, which KTAG applied for from the state. KTAG bankrolled Kiska’s 2014 presidential campaign and later listed the sum among expenditures in the books, which the Tax Authority refused to acknowledge.

Kiska served as the company’s official in the past, but he’s immune from prosecution while in office as president.