Investigators from Celje yesterday concluded their criminal investigation of suspected criminal acts regarding the equipment of the units of the Šoštanj thermal power plant. Criminal complaints have been filed to the State Prosecutor’s Office against ten persons (eight from Slovenia, and two foreign citizens, representatives of the supplier), charged with abuse of office and forgery or destruction of business documents in reference to Teš 6.

During “one of the most difficult and most comprehensive” criminal investigations more than 100 foreign and domestic transaction accounts have been checked, and more than 20 house searches have been carried out. Over than 1000 documents comprising more than 30,000 pages have been confiscated and examined. The criminal investigators established that the denounced persons at first abused their authority and unduly obtained business for technological equipment delivery in the total value of EUR 654 million. In time, due to a number of commitments and several changes to contracts the value of the business increased to EUR 1,018 billion.

In this manner a foreign supplier of the equipment, in case of Teš 6 Alstom from France, allegedly unduly acquired pecuniary advantage in the amount of almost EUR 285 million. Damjan Turk, the head of criminal investigators at the Celje Police Administration, explained that by amendments to the contracts installation was excluded from the business, which amounts to EUR 166 million, as well as escalation clause agreed upon due to variations in prices of materials, thus causing damage in the amount of EUR 93 million. The reservation contract in the value of EUR 25 million was unduly excluded as well.