STA, 11 March 2021 - The Maribor Higher Court has dismissed a damages claim by the ruling Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) against the state over the Patria defence corruption trial a second time in a retrial, in a judgement that has become final, the newspaper Delo reported on Thursday.

The party claimed over EUR 886,000 in pecuniary damages and interest because its leader, incumbent PM Janez Janša, was sentenced to prison ahead of the 2014 general election over a 2006 defence procurement deal. His and co-defendants' convictions were overturned by the Constitutional Court in 2015.

The party argued it sustained irreparable damage through the conviction, alleging that "unlawful conduct" by the judiciary in the Patria case impacted on the party's results in the general elections in 2011 and 2014 as the events related to the trial coincided with the election campaign and elections. Janša was ordered to report in prison shortly before the snap election in 2014.

However, the Maribor Higher Court dismissed the claim again telling Delo that the judgement had become final on 5 January and enforceable on 25 February.

The Supreme Court ordered a retrial in the case last year when it annulled the Higher Court's decision to uphold the May 2018 decision by the Ljubljana District Court to dismiss the claim on the grounds that the plaintiff failed to prove unlawful conduct by judges in the trial.

The Supreme Court held that the second-instance court had failed to provide sufficient explanation why it thought the plaintiff had failed to disprove the District Court's judgement that court actions in the Patria case were in agreement with the standards in "corruption" cases valid at the time.

Janša also claims EUR 900,000 in damages himself from the state, a former prosecutor and four judges involved in the Patria case. His claim has been moved by the Supreme Court from the district court in Celje to the one in Kranj, where Delo was told a decision in the case was not to be expected soon.

Meanwhile, co-defendants have already reached settlements with the state on their claims for wrongful imprisonment.

More on the Patria case

STA, 17 February 2021 - Four orthopaedic surgeons and a salesperson were sentenced to jail terms ranging from ten months to three years on Wednesday in what is the largest healthcare corruption trial in Slovenia. The Ljubljana District Court also imposed fines on them, while three of the doctors will also have their unlawfully gained assets seized.

Darko Žafran, a former sales representative at medical supplier Emporio Medical, was found guilty of giving bribes and sentenced to a year and six months in prison.

The doctors were sentenced for receiving the bribes, Robert Janez Cirman to three years, Rok Vengust to two years and two months, Vane Antolič to a year and six months, and Samo Karl Fokter to ten months.

The scandal broke out in December 2013, when police carried out house searches at almost 60 addresses around Slovenia, finding large amounts of cash and even gold bars.

Emporio Medical was at the centre of it, suspected of bribing the doctors in exchange for continuing ordering medical supplies made by a particular producer.

Urška Jurkovič, Emporio Medical's former director and co-owner, was the main witness for the prosecution, while the defence team questioned her credibility.

Neither defendant pleaded guilty when prosecutor Iztok Krumpak offered them a plea bargain in exchange for lower sentences before the trial started in January 2020.

In his closing argument last week, Krumpak said it was proven beyond a reasonable doubt the defendants had committed the criminal acts for which they were on trial.

Judge Dejana Fekonja also handed down fines totalling around EUR 59,000, ranging from EUR 6,000 to EUR 20,000.

Cirman, Fokter and Vengust will also have the unlawfully gained assets seized - around EUR 53,000, EUR 6,000 and almost EUR 33,000, respectively.

Despite finding them guilty, the judge did not go along with the prosecution's demand to temporarily strip the doctors of their licences.

She argued that they had not committed the crime in connection with medical treatment. The prosecution plans to lodge an appeal.

The judge meanwhile said "the court is not naive to think today's verdicts will change anything in the field of corruption in Slovenia. But it should be clear that anyone will be sentenced who has been proved to have asked for, accepted or given bribes, whether a state secretary, doctor, technician or warehouse employee."

She said it had been proven the doctors had had a say in deciding what medical supplies will be used, citing the example of UKC Ljubljana's Orthopaedic Clinic's spine division, which chose Emporio Medical as a supplier on the initiative of Vengust as the head of the division.

Fekonja said the doctors had received the kickbacks in various ways: as a payment of subscription fees for medical journals, a payment of registration fee for conferences, a payment of Christmas parties, deposits on bank accounts or in cash, with Žafran a middleman between the doctors and Emporio Medical.

Žafran received the bribe money from the company's former co-owners And and Urška Jurkovič on his special bank account in Croatia to distribute it to the doctors.

The defence will also appeal the verdict, with Fokter's lawyer Janez Koščak saying "the judge did not dare take a different decision because the media have done an excellent job".

He said the verdict was not based on evidence but on drawing conclusions. He said the doctors had been sentenced on the basis of notes made at Emporio Medical on which none of them had any influence. "They were sentenced on the basis of some notes made by third persons and rather diabolic drawing of conclusions by the court."

Before the trial started last year, the judge split it into several smaller ones due to as many as eleven defendants. Today's handing down of the verdicts thus brings only the first trial to an end.

The Medical Chamber stressed today it had zero tolerance towards corruption. It said however it would comment only when the verdicts became final, referring to the presumption of innocence.

If the guilty verdicts become final after the appeals, the chamber's committee for legal and ethical matters will discuss each case and inform the public of its conclusions, the chamber told the STA.

STA, 5 November 2020 - The Commission for the Prevention of Corruption has detected multiple corruption risks concerning the purchases of personal protective equipment in spring as part of a focused review of these purchases. It will launch its own inquiries and inform the competent authorities of suspected wrongdoing that it not within its purview.

The findings will be forwarded to the National Review Commission, the Market Inspectorate, the Court of Audit, police, Financial Administration and the Agency for Medicines, Commission president Robert Šumi told the press on Thursday.

He did not specify the persons or authorities that individual cases of suspected wrongdoing refer to beyond saying that the Commission will launch its own inquiries targeting several persons, including public officials, as early as this month.

Following a series of media reports about suspected irregularities in the purchases of protective face masks and ventilators in the earliest stages of the epidemic, the Commission launched a focused preliminary inquiry into the matter.

Šumi said that the Commission realised how grave and demanding the situation was at the time, which demanded swift and effective action.

"We also realise that the purchasing of protective equipment was conducted in extraordinary circumstances, when the need to buy protective equipment to protect the citizens was the priority. Nevertheless, we emphasise that even in such circumstances it is necessary to act responsibly, transparently and with a high degree of integrity."

The watchdog detected risks in all phases of PPE procurement, pertaining to unclarity as to the role of individual stakeholders in the process.

As a result, it also detected specific risks throughout the process of a lack of traceability and transparency, unequal treatment of bidders and selected contractors and influence peddling by unauthorised persons.

Since this would be outside its remit, the watchdog has not passed its opinion on purchases through intermediaries, but it has detected issues regarding the role of the Agency for Commodity Reserves.

The watchdog's Katja Mihelič Sušnik noted a lack of clarity as to the role of individuals involved in the selection and purchasing. However, Šumi said the commission is yet to examine accountability of individual persons.

The commission can also initiate a process for the protection of witnesses, something requested by Ivan Gale, a former employee at the Agency for Commodity Reserves who came forward with allegations of wrongdoing in spring.

The watchdog will try, within the scope of its powers, to establish a causal link between Gale's alleged disclosure and his recent dismissal from the job at the agency, said Šumi, adding that Gale had been subject to close examination by the watchdog as well as a person involved in the processes under examination.

The watchdog has acquired information on alleged wrongdoing based on media reports, complaints and public disclosure.

The oversight has been running since May 2020, involving extensive documentation, interviews with various individuals and meetings with organisations.

Mihelič Sušnik said the watchdog had not had difficulties in acquiring documents; the investigation focused on purchases of protective face masks and in part on ventilators.

The commission has issued 15 recommendations to the key stakeholders in the purchasing procedures, pertaining to detailed defining of roles of individual players, the quantities of purchases and the required proofs and selection measures and criteria, among other things.

The commission sent its report today to the government, the Agency for Commodity Reserves, the ministries involved in the PPE procurement procedures, and the Civil Protection and Disaster Relief Administration.

The report contains tables of all 61 contracts and three purchase orders and tables listing the revenue of chosen suppliers, while it does not include the values of orders and supplies, said Mihelič Sušnik.

STA, 1 October 2020 - Prime Minister Janez Janša has been formally indicted of abuse of office over a property sale carried out in 2005, a decision by the prosecution that comes more than six years after an inquiry was launched, Večer reported on Thursday.

Janša is one of the three persons indicted along with two former directors of companies that took part in multiple transactions, Branko Kastelic and Klemen Gantar, according to the newspaper.

The case revolves around a plot of land in the Trenta Valley in the Alps that Janša bought in 1992 and sold in 2005, at the time when he was prime minister the first time, for roughly EUR 131,000, nearly nine times the price he paid.

The buyer, the property developer Eurogradnje, then sold the plot, land along a river accessible only via a footbridge, for EUR 146,000 in 2005 to another company, Imos. The same year, Imos sold Janša a three-room apartment in the centre of Ljubljana for EUR 236,100.

The prosecution claims Eurogradnje paid EUR 100,000 more for the land than it was worth, which was then factored into the price of the apartment.

When Imos went bankrupt, the value of the plot was officially appraised at EUR 17,655, but then the plot was sold for EUR 127,500 at an auction won by Damjan Podjed, raising accusations about the price being artificially inflated to help Janša.

However, in August 2018 Podjed sold the plot to another person for EUR 140,000. Neither Podjed nor the final buyer appear among the suspects for now.

Janša has vehemently denied all allegations of wrongdoing since they first surfaced in the media in 2011. He has stressed that he has made enough money in his career with salaries and multiple bestselling books and has cast the allegations as part of a plot by people behind the scenes to remove him from politics.

The Trenta transaction was one of the allegations against him in a 2011 report by the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption.

The alleged criminal offence carries an eight-year prison sentence and is subject to a 20-year statute of limitations.

STA, 24 September 2020 - Minister of the Environment and Spatial Planning Andrej Vizjak is being investigated by the securities market regulator for buying over 400 shares of fuel company Petrol in the spring. The news comes a day after the government decided to fully liberalise fuel prices as of October, which could significantly impact Petrol's business.

 The Securities Market Agency has introduced oversight because of suspicion of abuse of internal information, or insider trading, but would not reveal any details.

Vizjak has bought 415 Petrol shares since March, the bulk at the end of May, for a total of EUR 120,000, the Finance paper reported in early September.

To finance the purchase, prior to which he already had over 80 Petrol shares, Vizjak took out a loan, the business newspaper also reported.

"Given that their stock market price plummeted during the epidemic, I bought the Petrol shares because I saw an opportunity for a good investment," he explained earlier this month.

A day after the government's decision to liberalise fuel prices, Petrol was the busiest share on the Ljubljana Stock Exchange today, up 6.31% to close at 320 euro.

It accounted for nearly 639,000 euro in deals, which is almost half of the daily turnover.

Finance reported that Vizjak's move was today reported to the corruption watchdog - the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption.

Vizjak meanwhile told the newspaper Večer today that he had purchased the first Petrol shares already 25 years ago, because he considered Petrol a promising company.

He reiterated the Petrol price on the stock market in spring was relatively low and at the time "nobody was taking about fuel market liberalisation yet".

The minister also said he had not been involved in the government's liberalisation of the fuel market.

"The documents were prepared by the Economy Ministry, and the Finance Ministry also took part. I was not involved. I find it unacceptable to be dragged into this story," he said indicating at a media fabrication.

Vizjak, who was also the subject of criticism for buying Telekom Slovenije shares as labour minister in 2012 when the then Janez Janša government was deciding on a potential sale of the telco and on dividend payouts, further explained for the press today during a working visit to Hrastnik that he had earned nothing through the acquisition.

"I haven't sold the shares, they are a long-term investment. When I sell them, we can start talking about whether I earned something," he said.

Vizjak, who also argued that expecting deregulation would lead to higher prices was a speculation, added that he was regularly buying promising shares of Slovenian companies and was looking forward to the Securities Market Agency procedure. He is ready to accept responsibility if any irregularities are established.

STA, 25 September 2020 - Ivan Gale, the man who came forward with accusations of flawed procurement of medical supplies during the first wave of coronavirus in Slovenia, is reportedly facing the threat of losing his job at the Agency for Commodity Reserves.

The public broadcaster TV Slovenija reported that Gale was summoned by the agency's director Tomi Rumpf for an interview before he is handed a dismissal notice on suspicion that he closed detrimental contracts for the supply of personal protective equipment (PPE).

Another charge against him is inappropriate communication with the media.

The report said that the agency's former director Anton Zakrajšek and his deputy Alojz Černe, who signed most of the contracts for the acquisition of PPE, had also been summoned to explain themselves in the face of allegations of wrongdoing.

Gale has become one of the faces of Friday's anti-government protests after speaking out for TV Slovenia in April about allegedly contentious deals at the agency involving PPE and other medical supplies.

He filed criminal complaints against the agency's current director Rumpf and Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek in early August alleging wasteful use of public funds under a contract with Hmezad TMT for the supply of face masks.

Gale filed another criminal complaint against the minister in late August alleging at least EUR 1.2 million in damage to public funds as a result of a deal with the company Acron.

The Agency for Commodity Reserves said certain procedures were under way in line with applicable law and based on the findings of an audit of past activities.

It confirmed three employees were subject to these procedures, but these were "in no way connected with the public actions of individuals or the public disclosure of individual cases of purchases of medical and protective equipment."

Soon after Gale went public with his accusations some pointed out that it was in fact Gale who had signed multiple contentious contracts while he was standing in for Anton Zakrajšek.

Speaking for TV Slovenija, Gale said one of the allegations against him was that he forged an order form in April for logistic services which were performed and paid.

He said the accusations against him were unfounded and announced that he would seek recourse in court. "I have the feeling these are acts of revenge against me."

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.

STA, 28 August 2020 - The Commission for the Prevention of Corruption (KPK) has launched an investigation after preliminary findings indicated the risk of corruption in alleged wrongdoing of Agriculture Minister Aleksandra Pivec, commission president Robert Šumi told the press on Friday.

The investigation has been expanded to include more persons and several events, as well as several instances of suspected wrongdoing, he said, adding that the launch of the investigation in itself did not preclude its outcome.

The Pensioners' Party (DeSUS), of which Pivec is member, said it supported the move because this was the only way to learn all the facts about the minister's trips to the coast.

Pivec herself has not responded yet, but the Agriculture Ministry told the STA she was currently on a sick leave after feeling frail on Thursday and being rushed to the ER.

The ministry added that the statement forwarded to the media by DeSUS also reflected Pivec's views.

The KP's move comes weeks after media reports that Pivec had taken trips to the coast which were partly personal in nature and featured family and party members but were paid for by a municipality and a company that hosted her in her capacity as minister.

Šumi did not reveal which parts of the integrity act had allegedly been violated by Pivec and did not say how many people are being investigated.

He said that this was not an isolated case, adding that the commission had had received several similar reports and that all cases would be treated the same.

Albert Nabernik, a member of the commission, explained the course of proceedings, saying that a report was followed by a preliminary check.

An investigation is launched only if the latter reveals there is ground to investigate. The person investigated is then informed and the investigation started. "The purpose of the investigation is to either confirm or refute the allegations."

The head of the DeSUS deputy group, Franc Jurša, told the STA he had expected such a decision of the KPK. He also noted that the outcome of the investigation would not change the deputy group's negative opinion of Pivec and their decision to ask her to step down.

STA, 7 August 2020 - Anti-government protests continued for the 16th straight Friday in Ljubljana, this time targeting the handling of coronavirus outbreaks at care homes. Meanwhile, dozens took to the streets in Izola following the reports that the coastal town had paid two hotel rooms for Agriculture Minister Aleksandra Pivec.

Protesters in Ljubljana converged on Prešeren Square where they were addressed by Biserka Marolt Meden, the head of an NGO promoting the rights of older people, who lambasted the government policy on aged care facilities and the idea that infected residents should be put up in mobile units.

The protesters demonstrated their opposition to the idea with an impromptu theatrical performance that saw activists carrying politicians' masks being taken by protesters to a container terminal set up at the finish of the protest march near Pionirski Dom.

pic.twitter.com/kcBNuYghKV

— Delo (@Delo) August 7, 2020

Nov petek, nov #protest. V središču Ljubljane so se začeli znova zbirati protivladni protestniki. pic.twitter.com/zArBoLozCR

— Tina Hacler (@TinaHacler) August 7, 2020

Poln trg. pic.twitter.com/G0ua4yzXVZ

— Marin Medak (@marinmedak) August 7, 2020

Sprehod po Miklošičevi ob Himni generacije in glasnih žvižgih na #protest. @rtvslo pic.twitter.com/bZFisnXU9g

— Tina Hacler (@TinaHacler) August 7, 2020

There, a letter was read out written by residents of a care home who expressed their grievances about the lack of social contacts and noted that the right to treatment is a constitutional right. The protest ended with red smoke billowing from the container as a way of demonstrating that such mobile units "may not be the best solution for those ending up in them".

The first of the "politicians" to be taken to the container was the one carrying the mask of Aleksandra Pivec, the agriculture minister and head of the Pensioners Party (DeSUS), who has become embroiled in a series of allegations of corruption, including that the town of Izola paid for a hotel bill for her and her two sons.

Pivec was also the target of protests in Izola, where the participants also demanded the resignation of Mayor Danilo Markočič, a member of Pivec's DeSUS, who has also come under fire for allegations that he has sold an olive orchard for EUR 244,000 to a Russian businessman whose company last year bought a building plot in an elite location from the municipality.

The mayor has rejected calls for resignation, saying he had done nothing wrong.

The protest in Izola was also attended by Ivan Gale, the whistleblower from the Commodity Reserves Agency who has exposed alleged wrongdoing in the procurement of medical supplies.

Protests were also held in other parts of the country.

STA, 3 August 2020 - The pressure is building for Agriculture Minister Aleksandra Pivec to give her side of the story about allegations of integrity breach or conflict of interest made against her. The MPs of her Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) said on Monday they expected to hear her explanations on Friday, however Pivec plans to do that next week.

The MPs are unanimous in asking for concrete explanations for Pivec's conduct and expect to hear them at the party's meeting on Friday.

The DeSUS deputy faction discussed today what the next steps should be in the wake of the media reports alleging Pivec's professional misconduct and risk of corruption in regard to her recent visits to winemaker Vinakras in the Kras region and the town of Izola, which have raised questions about who paid for them and whether there was potential payment of services for private purposes or family members.

Pivec has denied the allegations and announced that she would provide explanations after she returned from her annual leave. Her party peers expect explanations already on Friday and have requested DeSUS council vice-president Tomaž Gantar to convene a party council session by 25 August at the latest.

"Due to leave of absence, I am to meet DeSUS deputy faction MPs as soon as I return to Ljubljana (presumably next Monday) where I will provide them with all the explanations related to my work," said the DeSUS leader on Twitter today.

Zaradi odsotnosti se bom s poslanci poslanske skupine @stranka_DeSUS sestala takoj, ko se vrnem v Ljubljano (predvidoma naslednji ponedeljek), kjer bom poslancem podala vsa pojasnila, povezana z mojim delom.

— Aleksandra Pivec (@APivec) August 3, 2020

Meanwhile, some Izola municipality officials have raised questions about the way the town has been spending its municipal funds, reported Radio Slovenija.

Izola deputy mayor Aleksej Skok, a SocDems town councillor, believes that accommodation cost incurred during the minister's visit should be looked into by the town's supervisory board. The board's chair meanwhile said that the matter was outside the board's competence, according to Radio Slovenija.

The coalition parties have so far been reserved in their comments on the developments, whereas the opposition is critical of Pivec's actions, with the Marjan Šarec Party (LMŠ) and the Left going as far as demanding her resignation.

The anti-graft watchdog is looking into the matter to determine whether there are grounds for a more in-depth investigation.