By: Ana Horvat (Nova24tv.si)
The government is preparing the ground for the subordination of the insurance company with lawyers who used to work at Vzajemna. How else would you explain the fact that the draft law on the transformation of Vzajemna’s legal status was written by a law firm that had previously collaborated with Vzajemna, as reported by N1. The conflict of interest is evident. Therefore, Vzajemna has filed a complaint against the law firm with the Bar Association, which wrote the law on the transformation of Vzajemna’s legal status for the government.
Insurance company Vzajemna has filed a complaint with the Slovenian Bar Association against a law firm that drafted the proposal for the Ministry of Finance regarding the transformation of Vzajemna’s legal status. According to the N1 portal, the proposal for the law was prepared by a law firm known for its ties to the capital of the transitional left – Rojs, Peljhan, Prelesnik, and partners, which had previously collaborated with Vzajemna.
The government recently decided on the proposal for the law on the transformation of Vzajemna into a joint-stock company. The goal of Golob’s government, as reported by MMC RTV Slovenia, is to restructure the system of supplementary health insurance and protect the financial position of the Health Insurance Institute of Slovenia as the founder of the insurance company. However, it seems to be more about subordinating the insurance company. The situation becomes even more intriguing when we learn that the law firm behind the proposal is Rojs, Peljhan, Prelesnik, and partners. This law firm was involved in a political construct against Igor Bavčar and is partially responsible for the disappearance of 20 billion from Hypo Bank and has close ties to the capital of the transitional left. The mentioned law firm recently notified Vzajemna of the unilateral termination of a concluded contract.
Before the termination of the contract, it is alleged that the law firm also assisted in drafting proposals for legislative changes concerning Vzajemna, which could be a violation of the code of legal professional ethics, according to unofficial information from the Vzajemna management, as reported by N1. The portal adds that the Slovenian Bar Association has confirmed receiving a complaint from Vzajemna against the law firm, which is alleged to have simultaneously worked for both Vzajemna and the Ministry of Finance. The Bar Association has not yet commented on the complaint, as it has not been formally served to the law firm. The Ministry of Finance concluded the contract with the law firm on June 30th, and they will be paid up to 22,500 euros for their opinion.
It should be noted that this is a law firm known not only for its high earnings but also for its close ties to transitional capital. In the past, they have been involved in several controversial loan agreements for their clients in banks NLB and Abanka. They have also participated in questionable economic dealings and legal proceedings, from the allegedly contentious privatisation of Perutnina Ptuj to their involvement in the responsibility for part of the 20-billion loss of Hypo Bank’s Balkan subsidiary. In the past, they have been shareholders in 14 companies, including being the initial owners of the Telemach company in Slovenia before it ended up in the hands of Serbian tycoon Dragan Šolak. And now, we hear that the same law firm has assisted the Ministry of Finance in drafting proposals for legislative provisions on the transformation of Vzajemna, which will follow the abolishment of supplementary health insurance.
Supplementary health insurance, which will only exist until the end of the year, is held by almost all residents of Slovenia, with the majority being with Vzajemna. According to the latest data, Vzajemna provides supplementary health insurance for 758,000 people, which is about the same as the other two insurers, Triglav Zdravje and Generali, combined. However, with the “abolishment” of supplementary health insurance or the introduction of the new compulsory contribution (an additional one from the current government), the status of Vzajemna, where the majority of members have only supplementary health insurance, needs to be resolved. This represents about 93% of its revenue, which amounted to 314.4 million out of a total of 339.2 million euros last year.
Initially, the coalition did not plan to change the status, but then it reconsidered. The exact reasons for this change are not known, but the Ministry of Finance apparently concluded that changing the status to a joint-stock company is the best idea. It is particularly beneficial for the government, as it represents the subordination of the insurance company. On Thursday, the government adopted the draft law that details the proposed transformation. The National Assembly is expected to discuss it after the summer recess. The CEO of Vzajemna, Aleš Mikeln, opposes the transformation into a joint-stock company, as he believes it would be an “unjustified interference in the autonomy of the economic company and its members”, and he firmly advocates for what is called Vzajemna 2.0.