Slovak police have detained eight people, including defense ministry officials, as part of an investigation by the European Public Prosecutor's Office into possible misuse of military aid to Ukraine, Reuters reported, BTA reported.
Police confirmed earlier today that they were carrying out operations on a tip from the European Public Prosecutor's Office after local media reported that authorities had tried to detain a former defense minister who was out of the country on vacation.
The European Public Prosecutor's Office said that four of those detained were defense ministry employees and that the misuse amounted to 7.4 million euros. It specified that it suspected senior officials of “having awarded unjustified orders for ammunition to two private companies“ at the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
“The European Public Prosecutor's Office suspects that the public procurement procedure was manipulated and the price of the ammunition was inflated,“ the judicial body said.
The Defense Ministry in Bratislava did not respond to a request for comment.
The news website “Dennik H“ said earlier that police were searching for former Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad. He denies the allegations related to aid to Ukraine and wrote on “Facebook“ that he was proud to have helped the neighboring country. Nad called the police actions “theater“ and added that he was on vacation in Canada and would return by the end of the month.
The current government of Prime Minister Robert Fico has made a sharp U-turn since coming to power in 2023, including halting military aid to Ukraine and seeking to improve relations with Russia, the country's main supplier of oil and gas. The opposition has sharply criticized the new policies, while the government accuses the previous administration of treason and other crimes in its donations to Ukraine.
A report by the Supreme Audit Office last year indicated that errors related to budget rules were made in the purchase of ammunition for Ukraine and that the findings were passed on to the police.
Fico has criticized the European Union's policy towards Ukraine, saying that the arms supplies are prolonging the war. Yesterday he criticized NATO's plans to increase spending in the coming years and for the first time questioned Slovakia's place in the military alliance, saying neutrality would be beneficial to the country.