A controversial amendment to Slovakia’s Criminal Code, introduced in August 2024 by Justice Minister Boris Susko of the ruling Smer party, has led to the closure of thousands of prosecutions for economic, property, and corruption offences, enabling convicted and alleged offenders — including members of the country’s most notorious organised crime groups — to avoid further punishment and, in some cases, retain illicit assets. The reform lowered sentencing ranges, shortened limitation periods, and raised the financial threshold for criminal liability, resulting in at least 3,113 cases being time-barred in its first year. Beneficiaries range from Pavol Vlčko, a convicted murderer from the Sátor gang whose tax fraud case was dropped, to politically connected figures such as former ministers Peter Žiga, Miroslav Výboh, and Ján Počiatek, several of whom had faced corruption allegations. Critics, including the Stop Corruption Foundation and the European Commission, argue that the changes have shielded political allies, weakened deterrence, and cost the Slovak state tens of millions of euros in lost revenue, even as the government imposes austerity measures on ordinary citizens.
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Member of the Sátor organised crime group, Pavol Vlčko, has reason to celebrate in prison. He no longer faces the risk of an increased sentence for the murders for which he is serving time. Vlčko was also prosecuted for tax fraud, but the court quashed the charges against him thanks to a recent amendment to the Criminal Code initiated by the Smer party. The changes shortened limitation periods and lowered penalties.
Under the new rules, Vlčko’s offence is now time-barred. The state lost a substantial sum in the case. Together with fellow Sátor member Tomáš Orvoš, he set up a company, Toral, s.r.o., which was registered under a frontman, Ján Póny, who disappeared when he became inconvenient. Through the company and fictitious invoices, they unlawfully claimed a VAT refund of almost €400,000. The suspicious payment was approved by the head of the Tax Office in Veľký Meder, Zita Benovičová.
The tax office director from southern Slovakia was no stranger to the police; she had been prosecuted in other cases, not only for economic crimes but also for supporting an organised crime group. At the end of last year, she was found dead in her flat. Orvoš began cooperating with the police and was prosecuted in separate proceedings. His tax fraud charges will also have to be dropped due to the amendment and the expiry of the limitation period. Vlčko is serving his sentence for participating in the murders of members of the Pápay organised crime group and their frontman, Roman Riga.
Amendment Benefited More Than Three Thousand
On Wednesday 6 August, the amendment to the Criminal Code introduced by Justice Minister Boris Susko of Smer marked its first anniversary. Alongside him and the Sátor group, suspects, defendants, accused persons, and convicts in at least 3,113 cases could celebrate the occasion.
The amendment significantly reduced sentencing ranges for economic, property, and corruption offences, shortened limitation periods, and raised the damage threshold to €700 — the amount that now determines whether an act is a criminal offence.
Under the new rules, many influential figures and political appointees linked to Smer and the ruling coalition escaped legal trouble, including Peter Žiga, Miroslav Výboh, Ján Počiatek, and others, several of whom had faced corruption suspicions. The Stop Corruption Foundation analysed the further impact of the amendment one year on, using open sources and information obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, focusing mainly on corruption and economic crime that drains public funds.
Up to 34 per cent of time-barred cases are tax offences, primarily related to VAT. The state has voluntarily given up punishing tax fraudsters and recovering damages at a time when public finances are under strain. Meanwhile, the government is saving money through a consolidation package that impacts ordinary citizens’ wallets.
The State as a Cash Machine
VAT fraud is often linked to corruption. Fraudsters manage to extract hundreds of thousands from the state budget thanks to corrupt officials who turn a blind eye during tax inspections. For such criminals and their accomplices in public offices, the amendment has expanded opportunities to use the state as a cash machine — without consequences.
Shortly after the amendment came into force, the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Nitra had to drop a bribery prosecution against a businessman due to the expiry of the limitation period. He had paid €140,000 in bribes to the director of the tax inspection department and her inspectors, who in turn approved fraudulent excessive VAT refunds exceeding €11.5 million.
Unlike citizens who must cut back, many suspects in economic crime cases have benefited. For example, the statute of limitations ended one of the largest scandals of the first Fico government — the so-called emissions scandal — in which the state lost €47 million. The affair concerned the sale of surplus emissions quotas, allegedly benefiting individuals close to the Slovak National Party (SNS). The case gained public attention after a leaked video from the office of former Prosecutor General Dobroslav Trnka showed ex-Smer Finance Minister Ján Počiatek telling him how SNS leader Ján Slota profited from the deal and “fleeced” even Robert Fico.
Citizens of the Slovak Republic may well feel “fleeced” themselves, since this money could have gone into public coffers rather than the pockets of those who escaped justice. The loss in the emissions scandal alone equals the €48 million the government expected to raise from higher motorway tolls under the consolidation package, as calculated by Finance Minister Ladislav Kamenický. Adding tax fraud losses, the government might not have needed to cut back even on tax bonuses for parents.
Under the amendment, tax fraud under €20,000 is no longer a criminal offence in Slovakia — a change criticised by the European Commission.
“Bartender, Pour!” — Even for a Child
The amendment introduced some absurdities. For example, in the offence of serving alcoholic drinks to minors, the law now requires that the “value” exceed €20,000. This appears to be an error caused by the rushed legislative process.
If it was intentional, one can imagine the state a minor would be in after consuming alcohol worth €20,000.
Dishonest bartenders are not the only ones pleased. Consumers and producers of illegal cigarettes also benefit from the amendment. Forging tax stamps now results only in a suspended sentence, even if the illegal production is worth hundreds of thousands of euros. Again, this is money lost to all of us: from one legal packet costing €5.50, the state receives around €4 in excise and VAT. With illegal cigarettes, the loss is total.
The amendment has further harmed victims of crime. Three defrauded entrepreneurs will never be able to recover over €260,000 lost to a business partner. The Bratislava Prosecutor’s Office dropped the prosecution for damaging a creditor due to the statute of limitations. The accused had secured a contract to build a leisure and sports congress centre but, despite being paid, failed to pay three subcontractors.
Similarly, in Bratislava, charges were dropped against a managing director who had stripped a company of assets, depriving its majority owner of €200,000. In Trenčín, a judge halted proceedings against two arsonists who caused over €353,000 in damage to a building in Považská Bystrica. Similar cases can be found across Slovakia.
Criminals Keep Their Assets
The amendment has contributed to courts not imposing asset forfeiture orders. Politicians had justified lighter sentences by arguing they wanted fewer people behind bars and more financial penalties to bring money into the state budget. That has not happened.
In cases of corruption and bribery, the Specialised Criminal Court imposed no asset forfeiture orders last year or this year.
Before the amendment, courts were required to impose asset forfeiture for certain offences, such as establishing, organising, or supporting an organised crime group; drug trafficking; money laundering; or corruption involving over €130,000.
Under the new rules, forfeiture can be imposed only when sentencing an offender to life imprisonment or an unconditional prison term where the offender obtained or attempted to obtain more than €650,000, or caused damage of that value. The court cannot impose forfeiture if the offender has compensated the damage or returned the illicit gain.
Moreover, all courts are now re-examining sentences in concluded cases where asset forfeiture was imposed in the past. This applies even to well-known organised crime groups such as the Sýkora gang, the Piťo gang, and others. It is possible that confiscated assets will be returned to them.
Source: Ľubomír Daňko | Stop Corruption Foudation
