General Prosecutor's Office Cancels Charges Against Former Environment Minister

Slovakia's General Prosecutor's Office has cancelled corruption charges against former Environment Minister Ján Budaj, ruling that the charges were premature. The investigation into alleged mismanagement of state funds worth 570,000 euros will continue under a different investigator. Budaj, who served as environment minister in the previous government, was charged with economic crimes related to the ministry's handling of payments for a non-functional waste management information system. Police alleged that damages occurred both because the ministry initially refused to pay for the faulty system and later because it eventually did pay for it. The case highlights ongoing scrutiny of public spending decisions made by officials in Slovakia's previous administration.