“The head of the Elektro Ljubljana energy company, who was appointed by the Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS), is firing people in order to save money, but at the same time, he is buying luxury vehicles,” the web portal 24ur wrote in its new pre-election section, called Dejstva – Facts. However, the real fact is that the story is a bit different from what the reader would conclude from the pompous headline. The reason for this misleading report is probably that Martina Pohar was dismissed from her job for culpable reasons just a few days ago, as Elektro Ljubljana also pressed charges against her. Pohar came to Elektro Ljubljana because of the former President of the Management Board, Andrej Ribič, who was also charged. She allegedly sold an apartment in Ljubljana to the Director of the Elektro energija energy company, Bojan Kumer, in a fraudulent sale and for a much lower price than its actual market value – the whole story was recently revealed by the Siol web portal. And now the mainstream media outlets are obviously trying to get people’s minds off of the apartment affair by reporting on the purchase of a “luxury” vehicle – when in reality, we are talking about a Volkswagen Tiguan, which is worth 39 thousand euros.
As we have already mentioned, the Siol web portal recently published a story about the controversial sale of an apartment in Ljubljana, in which two men who are close to the new face of the left, Robert Golob, were also involved. Namely, we are talking about the former Chairman of the Management Board of the energy company Elektro Ljubljana, Andrej Ribič, and the Chief Executive Officer of another energy company, Elektro Energija, Bojan Kumer. Both Kumer and Ribič are also important members of Golob’s party, the Freedom Movement (Gibanje Svoboda) and the criminal complaint against them was filed with the Ljubljana District Prosecutor’s Office. Martina Pohar, a lawyer from the Elektro Ljubljana company, was also allegedly involved in the sale. She was also accused of fraudulently selling the apartment for less than its actual cost. According to the 24ur web portal, Pohar was merely an official who prepared a contract on behalf of her superiors, but at the same time, it is a fact that she is a lawyer who is also the wife of one of the most influential lawyers from the Čeferin Law Firm, Andrej Pohar.
On Monday, the 24ur web portal wrote about the dismissal – the Elektro Ljubljana energy company is said to be firing its workers in order to reduce costs: “A criminal complaint was filed against two employees on suspicion of committing the criminal offence of abuse of office and trust in economic activity. In March, the company terminated the employment contract of two employees in the company’s management due to cost reductions and streamlining operations,” Aleksander Zupančič confirmed, who began his four-year term at Elektro Ljubljana on the 6th of February this year. Zupančič is the former head of the cabinet of Minister of the Environment, Andrej Vizjak, which provides further reason for the media’s reports on his purchase of a “luxury” car – although, in reality, it is an “everyday man’s” Volkswagen Tiguan, worth 39 thousand euros. Recently, the Večer newspaper also went after Vizjak, accusing him of using his company car for personal purposes – and they apparently deliberately ignored the fact that this is, in fact, allowed.
Sara Bertoncelj
