Slovenia's SDH seeks probe into motorway operator DARS

The audit will check the business necessity, economic justification, and transparency of a set of deals conducted by DARS from January 2019 to December 2023, SDH said in a statement earlier this week.

The audit will additionally examine the tender preparation process to check whether there were any adjustments made to the conditions favouring specific bidders. Furthermore, it will scrutinise the legitimacy of annexes associated with specific transactions, SDH said.

SDH has asked for a DARS shareholders' meeting to approve the audit and initiate the selection of a special auditor.

In October, Slovenian media highlighted instances of DARS officials allegedly accepting bribes, as disclosed by whistleblowers. The reports also raised suspicions of cartel collusion in the outsourcing of towing services for broken down or damaged trucks on motorways, along with allegations of favouritism towards one of the service providers.