By: Vida Kocjan
At the beginning of September, investigators from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) carried out a house search at the home of Andrej Ribič, the former chairman of the management board of the Motorway Company of the Republic of Slovenia (DARS) and a prominent member of the Freedom Movement party. The search, conducted at at least two locations in Ljubljana (Prešernova Street and Cerkniška Street), lasted several hours. He is being investigated on suspicion of offering a bribe to Aleksander Štorek, a Member of Parliament from the Resni.ca party.
The affair involving the alleged attempt to bribe Aleksander Štorek erupted after the election. According to the allegations, he was offered inducements to defect to the Freedom Movement party and support Robert Golob in his appointment as prime minister of the new government. Investigators are examining the case on suspicion of the criminal offense of offering a bribe, or more specifically, buying parliamentary votes.
According to media reports, the warrant authorising the investigative measures is 27 pages long, although some reports claim it spans 37 pages. The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is conducting the investigation under the direction of the Specialised State Prosecutor’s Office, with prosecutor Blanka Žgajner signing the order. Investigators seized electronic devices and passwords from Andrej Ribič. Following the search of the property on Prešernova Street in Ljubljana, which reportedly lasted three to four hours at that location alone, Ribič emerged visibly upset and described the entire matter as a “fabrication” and “absurd.”
According to investigators, there is also reasonable suspicion that Andrej Ribič, who is regarded as being closely connected to the Freedom Movement, coordinated the alleged efforts to bribe MP Aleksander Štorek. Ribič denies all allegations, characterising them as a fabrication.
Attempted bribery involving seven-figure sums
In May, Katja Kokot, the parliamentary group leader of the Resni.ca party, revealed that three of the party’s MPs had allegedly been offered substantial bribes to switch parties, including sums reportedly reaching seven figures. Statements from the MPs were submitted to the prosecution service, and their contents were later presented on the television programme Tarča. MP Aleksander Štorek stated that Dušan Konda had tried to facilitate his defection and had mentioned Andrej Ribič, as well as the possibility of receiving a large sum of money, a house, and a car.
In May, Zoran Stevanović, President of the National Assembly, forwarded to the State Prosecutor’s Office statements from three Resni.ca MPs who described alleged attempts to bribe them into joining another political party and thereby helping to re-establish a left-wing governing coalition. The alleged targets of these bribery attempts were MPs Nedeljko Todorović, Boris Mijić, and Aleksander Štorek.
Among them, Štorek was the most specific in his public allegations. In April, he met with Dušan Konda, a well-known resident of Celje and long-time president of the Nivo Celje Canoe and Kayak Club, at the Špica area in Celje. According to Štorek, Konda conveyed an offer for him to join the Freedom Movement party, with Andrej Ribič, then chairman of the management board of DARS, allegedly being behind the political invitation. Štorek claimed that during the meeting there was discussion of a substantial amount of money, a house, and a car that he could receive in exchange for switching parties.
Konda later confirmed to the programme Tarča that he had met with the Resni.ca MP. At the end of May, Dušan Konda died. He was reportedly found at the kayaking centre in the Špica area near Celje, which he managed. According to the text, the circumstances of his death had not yet been fully investigated or conclusively explained, although some people quickly stated that it was a suicide. The article notes that no final public report had yet been issued.