Slovakia's National Bank Head Fined $110,000 In Bribery Case - Reports

Umer Jamshaid Published April 13, 2023 | 09:24 PM

A Slovak court found the head of the National Bank of Slovakia, Peter Kazimir, guilty of bribery while he was serving as the country's finance minister and fined him over $110,000, Slovak media reported Thursday

BRATISLAVA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th April, 2023) A Slovak court found the head of the National Bank of Slovakia, Peter Kazimir, guilty of bribery while he was serving as the country's finance minister and fined him over $110,000, Slovak media reported Thursday.

In early April, the court ordered Kazimir to pay a 100,000 euro ($110,532) fine, the sme.sk news portal reported. If the fine is not paid, Kazimir could be sentenced to an alternative punishment in the form of imprisonment, the report added.

Kazimir, while serving as the country's finance minister, acted as a courier and handed over an envelope containing a bribe of 50,000 euros to the then-head of the Slovak financial service responsible for tax and customs regulation.

Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger called on Kazimir to resign over the issue.

"I call on Peter Kazimir to resign from the post of head of the National Bank of Slovakia," Heger said on social media.

Slovak President Zuzana Caputova has also urged Kazimir to step down.