A businessman with close ties to the Smer party was convicted Tuesday in a case involving allegedly rigged IT contracts for Slovakia’s financial administration. Jozef Brhel, a prominent oligarch, received a four-year suspended sentence and a record-breaking fine of €1.5 million (approximately $1.6 million USD).
The verdict, handed down by the Specialized Criminal Court in Banská Bystrica, concludes a more than three-year investigation into the “Mýtnik” (Toll) case, which centers on inflated IT tenders between 2013 and 2018. The case underscores concerns about corruption and undue influence in government contracting.
Brhel’s son, Jozef Brhel Jr., also was found guilty of money laundering and received a four-year suspended sentence and a fine of €1.2 million (approximately $1.3 million USD). Both Brhels immediately filed notices of appeal following the court’s decision.
In addition to money laundering, the elder Brhel was convicted of accepting a bribe. The court determined that Brhel Sr. Colluded with businessman Michal Suchoba to gain access to Allexis, a company that secured lucrative contracts with the financial administration. The pair allegedly planned to share the profits from the €60 million (approximately $64.5 million USD) IT system contracts, with Brhel later directing Suchoba to his son to establish a network of companies linked to Allexis.
The court found that the Brhels created a scheme to conceal the origins of the illicit funds, facilitated by manipulation of the public procurement process. Through this scheme, both Jozef Brhel Sr. And Jozef Brhel Jr. Allegedly profited nearly €6 million (approximately $6.45 million USD).
Former State Secretary of the Ministry of Finance Radko Kuruc, who served during the tenure of then-Minister Peter Kažimír (Smer), and Miroslav Slahučka, a friend of ex-Minister Kažimír accused of soliciting a bribe, also were convicted of accepting bribes. Kuruc received a 28-month suspended sentence and a fine of €60,000 (approximately $64,500 USD), while Slahučka was sentenced to 20 months suspended and a fine of €10,000 (approximately $10,700 USD).
Lawyer Martin Bahleda and Milan Grega, a former head of the IT section at the financial administration, were acquitted of charges related to the case.
“The senate was not a rubber stamp for the prosecution and did not agree with the prosecutor on many points,” said Judge Ján Hrubala, who presided over the case. The verdict is not final, and Prosecutor Ondrej Repa has been given time to consider whether to file an appeal.
