Fifteen years after Slovakia squandered over €2 billion on a disastrous highway toll system, the country appears poised to repeat its mistake. Despite glaring warnings from civil society and internal whistleblowers, the Slovak government signed a new €14 million contract with CzechToll—a sister firm to the original scandal-plagued SkyToll—under conditions that critics say again rob the state of control. With key figures from the 2009 debacle still in power and oversight institutions weakened, the reopened police investigation underscores a stark governance failure: Slovakia’s political class has entrenched a culture where public procurement serves private interests, not the public good.
Slovakia is facing a potential repeat of its 2009 toll system scandal, as police reopen investigations into a controversial new contract signed in April 2024. Senior official Ľubomír Luhový from the Office for Public Procurement (ÚVO) raised concerns over possible overpricing and negligence, receiving whistleblower protection in the process.
The original toll contract, signed under the SMER party government, allowed the private company SkyToll to keep nearly half of collected highway fees, with the state ultimately losing over €2 billion and retaining no ownership. Now, CzechToll—a sister company to SkyToll—has secured the new toll contract under similarly dubious conditions. Civil society groups, including the Stop Corruption Foundation and the Slovak Union of Road Hauliers, warned that tender conditions excluded major international bidders and undermined transparency.
Alarmingly, subcontractor TollNet, responsible for 70% of the system’s delivery, is reportedly not required to transfer key software rights to the state. Despite the state’s demand to own the system fully, Slovakia risks spending €14 million on infrastructure it will not control, mirroring previous failures.
Although ÚVO was alerted to serious irregularities, it allowed the contract to proceed after one competitor withdrew a legal complaint. Public Procurement Office Chairman Peter Kubovič denied political pressure, yet watchdogs argue that ÚVO’s repeated failure to intervene reveals systemic capture.
Political continuity further exacerbates concerns. Figures responsible for the disastrous 2009 contract, such as former Transport Minister Ľubomír Vážny and ex-Highway Company director Igor Choma, remain influential. Choma now serves as a deputy minister under Prime Minister Robert Fico’s fourth government, deepening fears over institutional accountability.
Watchdog groups have also engaged the Supreme Audit Office, which previously condemned reckless toll spending. Meanwhile, a separate police investigation into the original SkyToll contract drags on, hindered by the weakening of Slovakia’s anti-corruption institutions.
The near-identical repetition of this scandal signals a profound governance crisis. Slovakia’s failure to secure basic contractual safeguards, despite clear lessons from the past, demonstrates the dangerous entrenchment of political influence over public procurement, undermining both democracy and the rule of law.
Source: Stop Corruption Foundation
