Slovak Defense Minister confirmed past ties to CSG Group firm

Slovak Defense Minister Robert Kaliňák has confirmed that his company, Kallan Consulting, previously provided services to Army Trade, a firm belonging to the CSG Group owned by Czech businessman Michal Strnad. Kaliňák stated that the cooperation involved lobbying, consulting, and legal-organizational services aimed at presenting products in the United Arab Emirates. He noted that the partnership concluded at the end of 2023, coinciding with his appointment as Defense Minister in October 2023.

Reports from Seznam Zprávy indicate that these consulting and lobbying activities were related to the Tatra brand, a company for which the Slovak Ministry of Defense later signed a major contract exceeding one billion euros. While Kaliňák denies any conflict of interest regarding current military procurement, investigations by the Ján Kuciak Investigative Center (ICJK) highlight that since Kaliňák took office, the Slovak defense ministry has entered into contracts with companies from the CSG Group totaling over 60 billion euros in framework value.