A person comes to the theoretical exam at the traffic inspection, passes the test, and leaves. But this is not the person who applied. The real "client" does not understand Slovak at all, but after a few weeks, they get a driver's license. This is how the scheme worked in the city of Prievidza, according to the investigation, which was uncovered by the police's internal affairs department as part of an operation codenamed ZÁMENA.
Three people received charges: two traffic inspection police officers and a civilian intermediary. All three were released after being detained — they are currently being prosecuted while free.
How the scheme worked
As the Ministry of Interior of Slovakia writes, the scheme was organized by a 47-year-old police officer from the District Traffic Inspection Office in Prievidza. He involved a 40-year-old colleague, and a 49-year-old civilian intermediary found the clients.
The clients were foreigners who did not know Slovak, mainly citizens of Serbia. Instead of them, a "look-alike" took the theoretical exam, pretending to be the applicant. The police officers who were supposed to check the documents knowingly ignored the substitution.
According to the investigation, one driver's license cost between 3800 and 6000 euros. Investigators have already documented at least two such cases totaling 12,000 euros, Aktuality.sk reports.
What awaits the participants
The police officers are accused of accepting bribes, which carries a prison sentence of 3 to 8 years. The intermediary is charged with bribery, meaning giving a bribe — this is also a criminal offense in Slovakia.
There is a detail that is often forgotten. According to Slovak law, not only the person who takes the bribe is responsible, but also the person who offers or gives it. Therefore, the "clients" of such a scheme risk not only losing their money — a criminal case can formally be opened against them too.
Why this is important for foreigners in Slovakia
Similar schemes of "buying" licenses in Slovakia appear periodically, and the police actively uncover them. This leads to several practical conclusions for the reader.
An illegally issued driver's license will be canceled. If the investigation proves substitution during the exam, the document will be declared invalid: the person will be left without a license and without money — plus with the risk of criminal proceedings for bribery.
A legal way exists, and it is not that difficult. Foreigners with a residence permit in Slovakia can take driving exams in driving schools on general terms. And driver's licenses from many countries, including Ukrainian ones, can be exchanged for a Slovak one without any exams at all — this is the procedure called obmena vodičského preukazu (exchange of a driver's license). It is legal and fast, and the fee is tens of euros, not thousands to an "intermediary."
If someone offers to "solve the issue" with driver's licenses for money, it is not a service, but an invitation to a criminal case. In this story, both those who took the money and the one who gave it ended up under accusation.
