Peter Plavčan, who was nominated by the SNS party for the position of Education Minister, was an unknown figure to most of the public. The professional community in education was more familiar with his wife, who was a well-known figure behind the scenes in the allocation of university accreditations or the financing of educational institutions. Although he did not emerge as the most problematic member of Fico’s cabinet after he was installed in the ministerial chair – he acted childishly, even cute or ridiculous – he remained in the history of government only by a large-scale scandal. It was one of the largest in scope and volume that the garrison of the period caused.
It was a case of large-scale embezzlement of funds intended for science and research. Instead of being targeted, the money went to a network of companies linked to organised crime, to companies behind government parties or to unknown owners. The scandal eventually led to the downfall of the minister himself, but also to the suspension of many European Union subsidy schemes, which Slovak education and science irreversibly lost.
There were four calls from the Operational Programme Research and Innovation. Of the €300 million (about €7.4 billion) earmarked for science and research, universities and prestigious scientific institutions received almost nothing. Despite their best efforts, the Slovak Academy of Sciences, for example, received zero euros. Millions to tens of millions of euros were, on the other hand, awarded to private companies, many of which were set up a few days before the announcement of the grant calls. They often had no research guarantor and were suspected of being linked to, for example, members of the Slovak National Party.
The auditors from Slovak independent institutions, as well as European authorities, were also concerned about the way the subsidies were allocated. The million-dollar funds for individual disciplines were often decided by people who had no experience in a given scientific field. Audit was also completely dysfunctional.
Minister Peter Plavčan defended himself against criticism from the media and the opposition. However, after a striking silence, for example, when he went on summer vacation in the face of public opposition, he was finally forced to resign in 2017 in the absence of arguments.
The European Union’s anti-fraud office (OLAF) investigated the case and instructed Slovak prosecutors to take further action. However, they did not catch any bigger fish and the public never learned who was behind the preparation of the fraudulent subsidy programmes, apparently pre-arranged with the criminal beneficiaries. Peter Plavčan soon won the rector’s post at the controversial school in Sládkovičov, which is the subject of another part of the History of Corruption.
