Since the anti-corruption government of Igor Matovič came to power in Slovakia in March 2020, we have been witnessing massive arrests of security forces’ officials. Paradoxically, even nominees of the current government ended up detained. The question remains, how to decrease the high level of corruption inherent in the Slovak security forces?

When Slovak investigative journalist Ján Kuciak — who investigated tax fraud, mafia connections and corruption — was murdered in 2018, then-Prime Minister Róbert Fico (SMER-SD) and his partners slowly started to lose power. Demonstrations against his government and nominees persuaded Fico to cede the office to Peter Pellegrini from the same party. While formally Fico left office, he was still able to exert influence. Understandably, the desire of the general public remained the same.

“Draining the Swamp”

In May 2020, Igor Matovič (OĽaNO party) won the parliamentary election with extensive support, obtaining 25% of the votes. Since the beginning of his political career, he projected himself as an anti-corruption politician, which made him an ideal candidate for the next PM. His campaign was predominantly based on the promise to get rid of the mafia, corrupt officials, and the old government led by Fico’s SMER- SD.

Even though there were many arrests of influential people, including oligarchs, there is a particular group that stands out: officials of security forces and intelligence agencies.

An essential person testifying in the majority of the cases is Ľudovít Makó. A former director of the Financial Administration Criminal Office was detained and charged with a violent crime in September 2020. Makó then became one of the key witnesses in the case named Purgatory where several former high-ranking police officials, including former police chief Tibor Gašpar, were detained in November, and some of them were put into custody charged with the organising of criminal group.

Besides Purgatory, Makó also became a witness in the case named Judas. Except for former Police Force and Financial Administration officials, a director of Slovak Intelligence Service (SIS) Counterintelligence unit Peter Gašparovič and acting deputy director of the whole intelligence service were detained due to alleged extortion. Another prominent official was jailed for accepting a bribe – former police chief Milan Lučanský. Sadly, he committed suicide in custody which provided political ammunition for opposition parties as well as a party in the coalition government, SME RODINA (WE ARE FAMILY).

When Family is More than Law

Nominally true to form, the SME RODINA party is a member of the so-called anti- corruption government that defends its “family members”. When the National Criminal Agency came for the director of Slovak Intelligence Service, Vladimír Pčolinský, who was a nominee from SME RODINA, the anti-corruption mask was quickly ripped off. Once again, Makó’s testimony played an important role.

As the former director of SIS, Vladimír Pčolinský is an important person for the party; both his brother and his wife are MPs, and Pčolinský himself had to be influential since he became the director of SIS. Therefore, shortly after the information about his arrest became public, the party started to work on his release. The leader of the party Boris Kollár started to spread a narrative about inhumane conditions in the collusive custody, proposing a shortened period that a detainee might be obliged to spend there. Inevitably, this led to tensions inside of the government coalition, inasmuch laws regarding judicial system changes are in the agenda of the Ministry of Justice that is led by a nominee of a different party.

The friction was smartly abused by former PM Fico, who also lobbies for changes related to collusive custody and for similar motivations, to help his party’s nominees that ended up in custody.

Importantly, Fico labelled some of his government’s nominees as political prisoners, adding that the investigation of some cases might be manipulated. To make the situation even murkier, on 21 May — when officers of the Inspection Office of Interior Ministry wanted to detain a former director of the National Criminal Agency Branislav Zurian, who left the office just a couple of days before — Fico spoke about a war brewing between security forces.

A Secret Meeting

In the background of the whole crisis, SME RODINA introduced their new candidate for the position of the director of SIS, Michal Aláč. Aláč had worked in the SIS for more than 10 years and served as a deputy director before becoming the director in early May. Shortly after his appointment, an unprecedented meeting took place in Bratislava.

In a special room in the building of the SIS that cannot be wiretapped, the most powerful officials gathered to discuss sensitive issues. The director of SIS Michal Aláč, Prime Minister Eduard Heger, President Zuzana Čaputová, Speaker of Parliament Boris Kollár (SME RODINA), Minister of Justice Mária Kolíková (Za Ľudí), Minister of Interior Roman Mikulec (OĽaNO), General Prosecutor Maroš Žilinka, Special Prosecutor Daniel Lipšic, Police President Peter Kovařík and director of the Inspection Office of Interior Ministry, Adrián Szabó allegedly discussed the possible manipulation of investigations.

The secret meeting did not remain secret for long. The character of the event quickly escalated the political situation and led to an extraordinary session in the parliament. A reaction to the unprecedented situation brought another extraordinary action. MPs voted to bring Pčolinský to parliament for his testimony. That would not be a problem in general; however, he was still in collusive custody at that time.

Interference in the Investigations

There is another curiosity related to the parliamentary session that happened behind closed doors. MPs discussed a confidential report from the SIS according to which there are ‘universal witnesses’ providing testimonies as a service in the cases already mentioned above. That essentially means what Fico has been saying — investigations might be problematic. As a responsible body, the Inspection Office of the Interior Ministry had to review the information from the document.

Several days after that, Adrián Szabó — director of the Inspection Office of Interior Ministry and present at the ‘secret meeting’ — was detained by the National Criminal Agency on suspicions of taking part in a corruption scheme involving luxurious electronics. He was subsequently released, but the event once again increased tensions between the ruling parties OĽaNO and SME RODINA with a prospect of a no-confidence vote for Minister of Interior Roman Mikulec (OĽaNO).

Only one week passed since Szabó’s detainment, investigators from the Inspection Office raided the building of the National Criminal Agency where officers seized several files related to the ongoing investigations. They also came for the file of the former SIS director Vladimír Pčolinský, but the investigators of the National Criminal Agency did not give it to them. Eventually, the investigator seized the file.

The raid happened due to existing suspicion about interference in the investigations, but according to Special Prosecutor Daniel Lipšic, it is very unusual to seize original files of ongoing investigations.

Just recently, two more problems with the Inspection Office occurred.

The former director of the National Criminal Agency Branislav Zurian is no longer accused of anything. A prosecutor cancelled the charges that were brought by an investigator of the Inspection Office, labelling them unlawful and unfounded. On the same day, the Highest Court announced that the former director of the Inspection Office Szabó will be put into collusive custody.

How to Make Sense of It?

As it is with all the security and intelligence services, it is extremely difficult to analyze and assess the situation. Unfortunately, given all the circumstances and unclarities, a lot of space for speculations and possible explanations exists.

There is still an option that all of the actions that took place were completely legitimate and legal. In that case, the situation is worrisome, as it would confirm the suspicion about interference in the investigations and the existence of a group of people that provide testimonies as a service which would be a huge blow for the public trust in law enforcement. According to a Eurobarometer survey from December 2019, the police force in Slovakia was the most distrusted one in the whole EU. A possible scandal regarding the manipulation of the investigations would be catastrophic. However, the likelihood of this version is low.

What we cannot rule out is the option that there might be a war between security forces in Slovakia. The conflict between the National Criminal Agency and the Inspection Office of Interior Ministry indeed looks like a power struggle with each action resembling a further level of revenge, as both of the agencies mutually arrested their respective directors. Understandably, when it comes to power structures, they often fight back in the process of purification that is hopefully happening at the moment. And that might be true, but something is still missing.

What seems like the most probable version is that we are witnessing a systematic effort to undermine the public trust in the investigations. As was already mentioned, former PM Róbert Fico is waging a long-term campaign to help his government’s nominees that ended up in custody through various means, including sowing distrust in law enforcement. After the police arrested Pčolinský, Fico found a new ally in the government, SME RODINA.

With a help of the SIS confidential report, these actors have tangible evidence supporting their narrative about manipulated investigations. As the Inspection Office of Interior Ministry had to review the allegations, it was inevitably nudged into a conflict with the National Criminal Agency that might continue in a deteriorating security scenario.

As unfortunate as it is, currently the version of the SIS abused for political and personal goals leading to the conflict between security agencies is the most probable one.

Inherently Corrupted

Generally, there is no panacea or a silver bullet for the situation. The existence of corruption is a fact. However, there are some means to possibly decrease the level of criminal activities of the high-raking security services’ officials.

One means to deter the officials is a vision of proportionate and lawful punishment. Massive arrests that have been happening over the last months do not have precedence in the country, even though there were many scandals and increased suspicion about possible criminal activities and corrupt officials. If investigators and prosecutors do their work properly, and courts will find them guilty, sentences might dissuade their successors from similar actions.

Secondly, candidates for the highest ranks in law enforcement agencies and intelligence services should go through public hearings. It is unacceptable that highly specialised agencies had been led by friends and fellows of politicians or oligarchs without a proper selection process that would reveal their strengths, weaknesses, conflicts of interest, and their vision. It already works in the case of the General Prosecutor, and it should be established for other influential positions as well.

Lastly, the competencies of those in charge of security forces should be reduced. At the moment, they have a strong leverage over their subordinates – money. Salaries of security forces officers are composed of various parts, including a ‘personal bonus’ up to 100 per cent of a particular element of the salary. In numbers, it generally represents more than several hundred euros. With such a power, heads of departments might blackmail their subordinates and ask them to do (provide information) or not do (halt investigations) certain things. Therefore, there is a general need for a more effective and corruption-proof method that would reduce their power over their employees.

These are general steps that could be taken to reduce the corruption inside security forces. However, the current situation in Slovakia proves that it also depends on the political culture. If politicians do not hesitate to abuse security and intelligence services for their benefit, measures cannot be effective.

This article is part of the #DemocraCE project and is published in English on Visegrad Insight.