Krajniak’s department has a problem: Coronadotations were also supposed to be used by mailbox companies, it is about 24 million euros! – Topky.sk

The topic was elaborated in cooperation with foreign investigative journalists Ján Kuciak Investigative Center (ICJK) on their website, where they talk about the leakage of millions of euros. In principle, they discovered a network of suspicious mailboxes to which the state sent millions of euros from a pandemic first aid during a coronavirus pandemic. Behind it is the Center for Labor, Social Affairs and the Family (ÚPSVaR), which falls under the Ministry of Labor of Milan Krajniak (We are a family).

The state had to pay an already incredible 24 million euros in this way

According to preliminary ICJK sources, it should be up to 24 million euros in public money. “Suspicious companies do not prepare financial statements, it is not clear whether and how many employees they have and several have tax debts. We did not find any of them in the inspection and the owners are usually people from the Balkans or Greece.” describes serious findings of the center.

According to the findings of journalists from these countries, they are not major entrepreneurs. Many seemed to have trouble finding the addresses they listed in the business registers. It is suspicious that, from the ÚPSVaR, they nevertheless received amounts comparable to long-established companies with a large number of employees who obtained them legitimately.

A suspicious company that no longer has a mailbox at its own headquarters

One of such companies was supposed to be SANTORY sro, which claims to be based in one of the panel houses near Miletičova Street in Bratislava. “But we didn’t find her name on the bells at the entrance. There are mailboxes in the common areas of the house, but the company doesn’t figure them either.” describe investigators.

At the company’s official headquarters, journalists did not even know on the basis of which the company applied for state pandemic financial support, how it proved the right to such a financial injection, how many employees it has, or how many jobs it managed to keep thanks to the help. The company can no longer even be familiarly called a “mailbox” as it does not even have the aforementioned mailbox.

There are several companies, they turned to the headquarters, the case is said to be solved by OČTK

However, according to ICJK, there are even more companies besides this, and therefore they turned to the mentioned headquarters, which reacted with a certain time lag. Questions about the suspected suspicions were sent to the Labor Office as early as September 13, 2021. Instead of answering, however, they only sent a press release on covid aid inspections.

This was followed by a request based on free access to information, to which the ÚPSVaR itself responded only after 16 working days. They responded that they would not provide the requested information. The reason is said to be the fact that the case is being investigated by law enforcement authorities.

“It was clear from the questions in question that the person entitled requested access to information which is the subject of a specific activity of law enforcement authorities and in a particular case there is an interest in impartial and independent assessment of the case by law enforcement authorities. thus protect the independence and impartiality of the persons concerned, ” wrote the Center for Labor, Social Affairs and the Family in the grounds of its decision.

The case reached the prosecutor’s office

The situation with financial assistance for companies has obviously gone so far that it has found itself in the prosecutor’s office. Dalibor Skladan, a spokesman for the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Slovak Republic, confirmed that the case is currently at the Special Prosecutor’s Office: “We can confirm that criminal proceedings are ongoing in this case. However, due to its stage, the Office of the Special Prosecutor’s Office is currently unable to provide further information in order not to frustrate the purpose of the criminal proceedings.”

In a joint press release, the Ministry of Labor and the ÚPSVaR later confirmed that they had already filed a criminal complaint in the case described: “The Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs and Family of the Slovak Republic (MLSAE SR) and the Center of Labor, Social Affairs and Family (ÚPSVaR) are aware of possible misuse of aid, systemic and internal control mechanisms have been set up to identify possible misuses of the crisis aid system. In this case, too, the ministry, together with the headquarters, investigated the possible misuse of the state aid system and acted immediately, a criminal complaint was filed and the case was referred to law enforcement authorities. “

However, the ICJK recalls that both responsible entities did not answer further questions. For example, how the ÚPSVaR controls requests for assistance from the so-called “First aid”, or why “first aid” is also paid to companies that have only “virtual headquarters”, or have not been reached for months or years and many others. ICJK reporters, in their own words, searched for all such companies, but it was mostly the same story as SANTORY, which is registered at the addresses of various virtual headquarters.

The Ministry recalls the solemn declaration signed by the applicants

The Ministry of Labor, together with the ÚPSVaR, reminds that applicants for contributions from the First Aid project sign an affidavit in their applications. “In this solemn declaration, each applicant confirms the accuracy and veracity of the information provided in the application. This method of payment has been set up from the outset to meet applicants so that they do not have to wait for several months. more than EUR 2,09 billion over more than 1,36 million payments for which the details of each formally correctly completed application with a signed solemn declaration of the applicant cannot be physically verified in advance, “ the ministry claims in a joint statement.

Source: Topky / Vlado Anjel

More than 2,550 financial controls were initiated under the First Aid project. Of course, from the beginning of the first aid disbursement, UPSVR SR and MPSVR SR warned applicants that applications and affidavits will be continuously randomly checked.

“Individual, albeit serious suspicions, must not limit or interrupt significant assistance to people who have found themselves in a difficult life as a result of the pandemic. to tolerate the abuse of the crisis system of assistance to people, thereby jeopardizing the use of aid by honest employers and self-employed persons, “ concluded.