Eastern Slovak Regional Government Spent Tens of Thousands on Legal Fees for Botched Tender, Could Have Paid Sanction More Cheaply

The Košice Self-Governing Region paid tens of thousands of euros in legal fees to fight a sanction related to a mishandled public procurement tender, when paying the penalty directly would have cost less. The regional government, which oversees administration for eastern Slovakia's largest region, hired external lawyers to contest the sanction rather than simply accepting the financial penalty. The final deficit from this legal strategy could be even higher than initially expected, as the costs continue to mount while the underlying procurement issues remain unresolved.