What has “Gorilla” recording revealed?

What has “Gorilla” recording revealed?

Bribing members of parliament, dividing up hundreds of millions from the privatisation of state companies, or the shady financing of political parties. All these feature on the sound recording, which was sent to several Slovak editorial rooms on Wednesday. So far, the parts that have been closely examined by journalists correspond with the printed transcripts of the "Gorilla" case, the political corruption scandal named after a Slovak Secret Service wiretap file, leaked in 2011. The main actors in the recording either dismiss it or claim they are not interested in it. Their voices, however, sound the same as the voices of those on the 39-hour-long recording.

Financial group Penta co-owner Jaroslav Haščák's voice is allegedly among those captured on the recording. Recordings capture Haščák talking to several politicians regarding commissions from state-related business in 2005 and 2006. The only voice from the recordings still active in politics today is the former Prime Minister and the SMER-SD chair Robert Fico.

"The media and opposition are turning the Gorilla case into an appalling political circus", stated the Smer-SD chair on Wednesday in response to the emergence of the "Gorilla" case recording. Fico emphasised that the kickbacks and bribes accompanying the privatisation in 2002-06 took place under the second government of Mikuláš Dzurinda. Also according to the current PM Peter Pellegrini, Fico can sleep well knowing he is beyond reproach. On the other hand, the opposition OĽaNO leader Igor Matovič noted that on the recordings, Robert Fico admits that having used illicit financing for his party's campaign. On Thursday, Fico ruled out this notion.

Only the Slovak Intelligence Service (SIS) can tell whether the published recording is really the Gorilla recording, stated the Special Prosecutor Dušan Kováčik on Wednesday. According to Kováčik, the information he has obtained so far from the former head of the Gorilla investigation team Lukáš Kyselica says that the recording is almost identical to the published transcript. The former head of the Gorilla investigation team, Lukas Kyselica, confirmed its authenticity for several media. The Penta financial group has questioned this confirmation. "We demand, for the sake of credibility, that the competent authorities publish a full expert analysis of the recordings that former investigator Lukáš Kyselica spoke about. We seriously doubt that the expert analysis could convincingly rebut suspicions that the recordings might have been tampered with," stated Penta. The financial group claimed that when modern technologies are considered, no way of creating and deliberately adjusting any audio recording can be practically excluded.

Zuzana Botiková, Photo: TASR

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