In the past, we have already written about the criminal complaint filed by the Civil Initiative of Active Citizens of Independent Slovenia (Civilna iniciativa Aktivni državljani samostojne Slovenije – CI ADSS) with the Specialised State Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Slovenia in connection with the high-profile case of the purchase of the building at Litijska Street 51 in Ljubljana. The civil initiative in question has now filed a supplement to the criminal complaint. The complaint, which was originally filed against the then-Minister of Justice, Dominika Švarc Pipan, and Minister of Finance Klemen Boštjančič, now also includes Prime Minister Robert Golob. The initiative believes that there is reasonable suspicion that the Prime Minister actively participated in the illegal reallocation of budget funds and the approval of the purchase of the disputed property.
It should be recalled that the case of the purchase of the building at Litijska Street 51 came to public attention at the end of December 2023, when the state bought the commercial building from a private owner for 7.7 million euros. What is particularly controversial is that 6.5 million euros of this amount was drawn from the budget reserve, which, by law, is intended exclusively for financing rectifying the consequences of natural disasters, and not for the purchase of real estate.
According to the civil initiative, the reallocation of funds was carried out outside the scope of the legally prescribed procedures, without the appropriate documentation and without the cooperation of the competent services of the Ministry of Justice. The entire process supposedly unfolded in just a few days, which made it possible to carry out the transaction without the usual safeguards.
From the initial complaint to an extended investigation
The initial criminal complaint was filed in December 2024 against Dominika Švarc Pipan and Klemen Boštjančič on suspicion of criminal abuse of official position and facilitating unjustified financial gain. According to new findings by the civil initiative, Prime Minister Robert Golob also actively intervened in the process at key moments.
The initiative has stated that the Prime Minister personally approved the reallocation of budget reserves, even though he knew that the funds were not intended for such purchases. His consent allegedly enabled the deal to go ahead without a decision by the government as a whole or the National Assembly.
Time pressure and political influence
E-mail correspondence attached to the civil initiative’s complaint shows that the decision was made hastily just before the end of 2023. According to the initiators, ministry officials were under political pressure to prepare the documentation and contract for the purchase of the building within an extremely short time frame.
The initiative points out that the contract was signed without adequate insurance and financial guarantees, which “indicates an extremely irresponsible and potentially criminal manner of conduct on the part of those responsible.” This is contrary to the regular practice in comparable real estate transactions by the state.
On the 28th of December, 2023, the then-Minister of Justice, Dominika Švarc Pipan, publicly wrote on social media: “Step by step, we are achieving our strategic goal… Thanks also to the Ministry of Finance and the entire government for listening to us, so that we could quickly carry out a favourable and sensible transaction.”
According to the civil initiative, this statement confirms that the government, or rather its Prime Minister, was also directly involved in the deal.
Wider circle of people involved
In addition to Robert Golob, Dominika Švarc Pipan and Klemen Boštjančič, the civil initiative also suspects state secretaries and officials who allegedly participated in the process: Saša Jazbec, Gordana Pipan, Mojca Pirnat, and Igor Šoltes. The initiative pointed out that “only individual officials and the seller of the building are appearing as suspects in the criminal proceedings, while political decision-makers remain untouched.”
According to the civil initiative, after her resignation, Dominika Švarc Pipan sent messages from her private e-mail address to the current Minister of Justice, Andreja Katič, Prime Minister Robert Golob, and internal auditor Suzana Hötzl, in which she attempted to influence further proceedings regarding the controversial purchase. The initiators of the criminal complaint believe that this further indicates internal political pressure and attempts to control the outcome of the affair.
Evidence shows that this was a quick decision that was contrary to the law
The budget reserve is a strictly earmarked instrument and may only be used in exceptional cases specified by the Public Finance Act. Any reallocation of these funds for other purposes requires a formal decision by the government and notification to the National Assembly. According to the civil initiative, this did not happen in the case of the purchase of the building on Litijska Street 51, which constitutes a violation of the law.
“The evidence clearly shows that the decision was political, hasty, and contrary to the law,” the initiative says, adding, “We therefore expect the Specialised State Prosecutor’s Office to extend its investigation to Prime Minister Robert Golob.”
The significance of the affair and next steps
The Litijska 51 affair is one of the most high-profile affairs in recent years, as it raises questions about the transparency of public spending, the accountability of political decision-makers, and the control over the use of budget reserves. According to legal experts, the decision of the Specialised State Prosecutor’s Office on whether to expand the investigation will have a significant impact on the political landscape in the country.
The civil initiative has already announced that it will initiate additional legal and public proceedings if the expansion does not take place, as it wants to “prevent the political leadership from remaining untouched in a case that is clearly defined in financial and legal terms.”
The prosecutor’s office has not yet responded to the original complaint.
I. K.
