CSG denies financial links to Kaliňák's law firm

The Czechoslovak defense and engineering group (CSG) has denied media reports about an alleged secret "money channel" between the financial startup Fingood and the law firm Kallan Legal. The law firm is majority-owned by Slovakian Defense Minister Robert Kaliňák.

"Neither the CSG Group nor I personally have ever been contractual partners between Fingood and the law firm Kallan Legal," CSG CEO and owner Michal Strnad told bne IntelliNews in a statement.

Strnad also emphasized that CSG has never commissioned or paid the law firm for legal services. There were also no financial relationships between the company and Minister Kaliňák. Strnad also made it clear that he was neither the owner of Fingood nor involved in its management.

Media reports about payments

The statement is in response to research by the Czech online portal Seznam Zprávy. According to this, Fingood is said to have made payments to Kallan Legal over several years.

A former manager of the start-up told the media outlet that between two and three million Czech crowns were transferred to the law firm every year. This was a considerable sum for the small company.

According to the report, former managers also confirmed such payments. Former CEO Vít Endler explained that Kallan Legal regularly issued invoices - sometimes amounting to several tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of crowns per month. FinGood originally planned to enter the Slovakian market. However, according to the company, the project was abandoned in 2024.

Connection to defense contracts

Journalists suspect that the payments could be related to the extensive defense contracts that CSG has received from the Slovakian Ministry of Defense since 2023. Since the return to power of Prime Minister Robert Fico's Smer party, CSG is said to have received contracts worth around 60.36 billion euros, according to investigative journalists.

Kaliňák confirmed to Seznam Zprávy that his law firm had worked for Fingood. However, he could not provide any further details due to legal confidentiality. He also stated that he knew nothing about a possible connection between Fingood and Strnad.

CSG points to stock market success

CSG is one of the most important defense contractors in Slovakia. The company's IPO on Euronext in Amsterdam on 23 January was described as the largest IPO of a defence company in the world, according to Euronext.

With a market capitalization of around 32 billion euros, CSG is now considered the most valuable Czech company, overtaking the state-dominated energy supplier ČEZ. Bloomberg estimates the assets of CSG CEO Michal Strnad at around 37 billion US dollars. This makes him one of the richest entrepreneurs under the age of 40 in the world.

Defense industry a political issue

Strnad explained that the defense industry is one of the most heavily regulated industries. He also confirmed that he knew Kaliňák personally, but emphasized that the cooperation was exclusively within the framework of the development of the Slovakian defence industry.

"Thanks to this strategy, Slovakia has become one of the most important European manufacturers of large-calibre ammunition in recent years," said Strnad. This has created thousands of jobs and generated considerable tax revenue for the state. He also criticized the fact that the development of the defence industry has increasingly become part of political disputes.

CSG is currently continuing to invest in the expansion of its production capacities in Slovakia, explained Strnad. The defence contracts under discussion are mainly framework contracts that other countries could also join.

This article was created in cooperation with our partner bne intelliNews