The Supreme Court of Slovakia confirmed the sentences in the case of falsification of financial documents for former Minister of Economy Pavol Rusko and businessman Marian Koczner, who was also accused in the murder of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancee.
This is reported by Aktuality.
The Supreme Court upheld the decision of the Specialized Criminal Court, which in February 2020 sentenced Rusko and Koczner to 19 years in prison each and a €10,000 fine for Koczner. The decision is final and not subject to appeal.
The case against the defendants began in 2016 when Koczner wanted to recover millions of euros from Rusko and TV Markiza. Koczner claimed to be in possession of promissory notes worth 69 million euros.
It later turned out that the documents were forged, and the former minister was involved in the case and helped get the money with the fake documents.
Koczner was charged in another case with the contract killing of journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancee. However, in September 2020, the Specialized Criminal Court in Pezinok acquitted him and Alena Zhuzhova, whom the prosecution considered an intermediary in the murder.
According to the court, the crime took place, but it was not proved that they were both involved in the murder.
Koczner was only fined €5,000 for illegal weapons possession. Zhuzhova was fully acquitted. This decision can still be appealed by the prosecution.
