Slovak central bank governor found guilty of corruption

The head of the Slovak central bank, Peter Kažimír, has been found guilty of corruption by a Slovak court. The court ruled that he must pay a 200,000 euro fine or face a one-year prison sentence.

The verdict is not final, as both parties may appeal. The ruling does not automatically remove Peter Kažimír from his position. Kažimír is also a member of the European Central Bank’s governing council, media reported.

According to the verdict, Kažimír bribed the then head of the Financial Administration, František Imrecze, in 2017 to obtain information about the tax affairs of several companies and thus help them pay excessive VAT deductions amounting to more than three million euros.

According to the prosecutor’s office, he was supposed to give Imrecze a bribe of €48,000 for this.

Businessman Ladislav Rehak also had a stake in the companies from whom Kažimír, while minister, bought a villa near Slavín in Bratislava at a bargain price.

The court also ruled that the €48,000 that František Imrecze handed over to the police as the aforementioned bribe from Peter Kažimír would be confiscated by the state.

On the eve of the verdict, the head of the central bank sent a letter to his friends, acquaintances, and official contacts in which he sharply criticized the actions of Judge Milan Cisarik and called the entire process fabricated.

“I have every reason to believe that on Thursday, May 29, 2025, Judge Milan Cisarik of the Specialized Criminal Court intends to find me guilty. In a senseless and fabricated trial from the very beginning and without any evidence,” he wrote in the letter.

Peter Kažimír also emphasizes that he is not accused of receiving a bribe but of allegedly giving one. He claims that the accusations are based on “lies” and that he never gave any bribes.

The trial itself was marked by a series of complications and unexpected twists. Judge Milan Cisaric initially ruled on Kažimír in closed session, issuing a criminal ruling. He initially sentenced him to a fine of €100,000 for bribery. However, both the prosecution and Kažimír disagreed with the ruling, so the case had to be heard in court.

The case of corruption involving the head of the National Bank sparked intense debate, especially regarding the statute of limitations. Given that the alleged acts took place in 2017 and 2018, the defense argued that the case should already have been closed due to the statute of limitations, thanks to government amendments to the Criminal Code, at the latest at the turn of 2021 and 2022. Under the new law, a three-year statute of limitations applies to bribery.

Therefore, it was expected that Judge Cisaric would terminate the prosecution of Kažimír due to the expiration of the statute of limitations. However, the judge decided not to continue the case but to reclassify the offense.

According to the latest amendment to the criminal codes, stricter statutes of limitations apply to crimes related to possible harm to the interests of the EU. In this case, the statute of limitations is five years, so, according to Judge Cisarik, the case has not lost its relevance.

An important factor in this case is that the alleged bribe was related to VAT. European Prosecutor Juraj Novotný explained that the VAT issue is a matter for the European Union, as there are several EU court rulings on this matter.

Peter Kažimír has governed the National Bank of Slovakia since 2019.