Prime Minister Robert Fico used a press conference on 15 December to defend Dušan Kováčik, a former special prosecutor facing charges in three corruption cases, one of which has already resulted in a first-instance conviction. At the same time, he strongly criticised prosecutor Vasiľ Špirko, a former corruption investigator who was later cleared of criminal charges.

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Fico and other senior figures from his Smer party accused Špirko, now working at the General Prosecutor’s Office, of domestic violence and of forging a signature in a 2016 witness statement. Špirko was the prosecutor who had investigated alleged corruption involving former Smer ministers Robert Kaliňák, now a defence minister, and Ján Počiatek.

“What is such a person doing at the General Prosecutor’s Office?” Fico asked on Monday. He was joined at the press conference by Kaliňák, charged Smer MP Tibor Gašpar, and Fico’s adviser Marek Para, who until recently was himself under investigation for allegedly coordinating efforts to discredit Špirko. Špirko was listed as the injured party in that case.

Fico cited past irregularities in a witness record prepared by Špirko as evidence of wrongdoing, despite the fact that these issues had already been examined. While a disciplinary panel found minor breaches of duty, Špirko received no punishment and was cleared in criminal proceedings. Authorities failed to establish who had signed the document.

Despite this, Fico said he had “clear evidence” and claimed Špirko had effectively admitted wrongdoing in a video interview from early December. The prime minister referred to the interview Špirko gave to the news website 360tka.

The case concerned testimony by convicted tax fraudster Ľuboš Varga, who had implicated Kaliňák but later withdrew his statement. Varga claimed that he had been pressured and that the signature on the document was forged. Varga was represented at the time by Para, who, according to Fico, refused in 2016 to publicise what he described as a false testimony. Fico claimed this later led to Para being prosecuted after 2020 in what he called a fabricated organised-crime case.

Allegations of domestic violence, raised previously in 2021, were also investigated and dismissed.

General Prosecutor Maroš Žilinka publicly rejected Fico’s accusations, calling them an unacceptable attack on the credibility of the prosecution service. He said there was no evidence that past investigations were handled unlawfully and urged the prime minister to present any new facts if he had them.

Žilinka confirmed that prosecutors are still reviewing a criminal complaint filed by Para against Špirko, adding that the case would be decided “lawfully and without pressure”.