STA, 4 September 2020 - The Commission for the Prevention of Corruption (KPK) named on Friday as suspects Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) president and Agriculture Minister Aleksandra Pivec and her party colleague, Izola Mayor Danilo Markočič, in an investigation looking into alleged wrongdoing on Pivec's part official, part private trips to the coast and Kras.
The announcement comes a week after KPK boss Rober Šumi said the corruption watchdog was launching an investigation into the case, after having established risk of corruption in preliminary findings.
The names were released now, as both Pivec and Markočič have received mail informing them that they are being investigated, the KPK said in a press release today.
It also said that it was looking into events that took place in Izola and the Kras region in 2019 and 2020 for suspicion of violation of the public sector ethics and integrity rules, and violation of gift acceptance restrictions for public sector officials.
The preliminary inquiry was launched based on a question from the press, the KPK said. Alleged wrongdoing by Pivec made headlines in late July, following reports that she had taken family and DeSUS members on trips she undertook in her capacity as minister.
In one instance wine producer Vinakras covered a part of the expenses and organised an excursion that also featured her sons and spouse, capturing it all in a promotional video.
In another instance, Pivec stayed in Izola for a night, with several rooms at a local hotel paid for by the Izola municipality. She was accompanied on that trip by her two sons, two security officers and allegedly a party colleague.
Pivec later said that the sons stayed with friends to avoid exactly this kind of allegations and that the municipality had paid for the rooms of her security guards. But the police denied this, saying the guards had paid for their room with their business card.
There were also several contradicting statements made about what appear to be several modified hotel receipts by the hotel and the Izola municipality.
Pivec has denied a number of times that she had done anything wrong, underlining that she would never exploit the position of a government minister to her own benefit or the benefit of people close to her.
Markočič said in a written response for the STA that the municipality had immediately forwarded all relevant documents to the KPK, as well as the correspondence connected to Pivec's visit.
He said the documents clearly show that the municipality had no intention of violating anti-corruption legislation, adding that the municipality intended to continue to cooperate constructively with the KPK.
"Our sole intention was to make a reservation and pay for the rooms of the official delegation members. Once we uncovered the error in the hotel receipt payment, which did not correspond to the purchase order issued by the municipality, I took responsibility and reimbursed the municipality the miscalculated sum on 5 August," the mayor said.
While the opposition demand that Pivec resign as minister, some of the top party figures also want her gone as DeSUS head. The party has been split in two and is currently debating which body has the capacity to dismiss her.
Ultimately, her refusal to step down could lead the party's entire deputy group to jump ship.
Nevertheless, DeSUS's official response last week to the investigation was a welcoming one, expressing hope that the investigation would make an end to "manipulations and inhuman media and political pressure" exerted on Pivec.
DeSUS council president and Health Minster Tomaž Gantar, who is regarded as a potential successor of Pivec, said today that Pivec's troubles were "piling up", expressing the wish that she assume political responsibility and resign as party president.
"If she wants what's good for the party, she should step down," he said as he was giving a statement for the press after a meeting of the Economic and Social Council.
