{"id":35234,"date":"2020-04-28T16:02:01","date_gmt":"2020-04-28T14:02:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ostro.si\/?p=35234"},"modified":"2026-06-09T12:05:34","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T10:05:34","slug":"opaque-coronavirus-procurement-deal-hands-millions-to-slovenian-gambling-mogul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ostro.si\/en\/stories\/opaque-coronavirus-procurement-deal-hands-millions-to-slovenian-gambling-mogul\/","title":{"rendered":"Opaque Coronavirus Procurement Deal Hands Millions to Slovenian Gambling Mogul"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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In recent weeks, Slovenia has introduced strict controls on movement and gatherings, while approving tens of millions of euros worth of bids under emergency measures that bypass open tender measures. In just the last week of March, the government signed deals worth around 80 million euros (US$87 million) in opaque one-day bids. Little information has been made publicly available on these agreements. <\/p>\n

Reporters from OCCRP member center O\u0161tro<\/a>, however, found that the largest of these deals benefits a powerful businessman with investments in gambling, electronics, and real estate, but no known experience in healthcare.<\/p>\n

Public disclosures show that Slovenia\u2019s government signed a 25.4-million-euro deal on March 26 with a company called Public Digital Infrastructure d.o.o. to provide unspecified \u201cprotective equipment\u201d for COVID-19. Corporate records show that the company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Elektron\u010dek Group B.V., a Dutch company controlled by one of Slovenia\u2019s richest men, Joc Pe\u010de\u010dnik. <\/p>\n

Among Pe\u010de\u010dnik\u2019s other businesses is Interblock d.d., which produces and sells gaming devices in the U.S. state of Nevada, where he also owns a home. The company obtained a gaming license in Nevada in 2008, but Pe\u010de\u010dnik established a business presence there in the early 2000s. <\/p>\n

For decades, Pe\u010de\u010dnik has been a mainstay of the gambling industry in Slovenia. Public records, however, show no previous involvement in healthcare. <\/p>\n

The government\u2019s disclosure of the spending does not provide any details about what protective equipment Public Digital Infrastructure has been contracted to provide. Pe\u010de\u010dnik did not respond to calls or a text message seeking comment. <\/p>\n

The emergency contract \u2014 the largest awarded in Slovenia for coronavirus equipment \u2014 represents a significant boon to Pe\u010de\u010dnik. Dutch records for 2017, the last year available, show the coronavirus contractor\u2019s parent company earned 87.7 million euros. The new deal, for 25.4 million euros, would represent 29 percent of that figure. <\/p>\n

Emergency Windfalls<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Slovenia\u2019s procurement system typically involves a lengthy bidding process and measures to ensure fair market competition and verify bidders\u2019 eligibility.<\/p>\n

But these rules have now been suspended amid an outbreak that has seen more than 900 coronavirus cases, and 20 deaths. Most COVID-19 related procurement is being conducted by the Agency for Commodity Reserves, which is normally tasked with maintaining Slovenia\u2019s reserves of oil and strategic commodities. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n