The Ministry of Transport of Slovakia presented the company Zipp Resident with a debt of over 620 thousand euros — these are subsidies for housing Ukrainian refugees plus accrued interest. The inspection showed that the firm violated the terms of the contracts and simply does not respond to the state's requests.
The story described by the publication Aktuality.sk is quite typical: while Ukrainians were massively looking for shelter, some turned their misfortune into a business without proper control.
How the payment scheme worked
When thousands of people fleeing the war arrived in Slovakia at the end of 2022, the state launched subsidy programs. Hotels, hostels, and private companies were compensated for each night of accommodation for a person with the status dočasné útočisko (temporary asylum) or with the document odídenec (the then label “departing” for displaced persons).
The rates were fixed:
- up to 24.20 euros including VAT per night for an adult;
- up to 12.10 euros for a child.
Zipp Resident signed three contracts with the state from December 2022 to July 2023 and received compensation at these rates. The owner of the Bratislava-based firm is a person with Bulgarian citizenship.
What the inspection revealed
The controlling bodies of the Ministry of Transport, after checking the documents, established that the subsidies were used improperly. The company was obliged to keep accurate records of accommodated persons, provide supporting documents upon request, and guarantee that it did not receive money for the same people from different sources. All three conditions, according to the ministry’s conclusion, were violated.
Zipp Resident did not respond to requests to provide documents. The firm ignores phone calls, emails, and repeated official demands from the ministry. Therefore, the state formed a debt: over 620 thousand euros, including the provided amount and interest for using the funds.
According to the 2023 report, the company earned over 3.31 million euros in revenue but ended the year with a loss of over 1.11 million euros.
The problem is broader than one company
The case is not isolated. In 2022 alone, Slovakia paid over 70 million euros in compensation for housing more than 74 thousand Ukrainian refugees. Even then, the Supreme Audit Office NKÚ pointed out: there are no unified record-keeping rules, control over the use of funds is practically absent, which creates direct space for abuse.
In other words, the system was built on an honor system — and some took advantage of it.
Why this matters for Ukrainians
There is no direct risk for the displaced persons themselves: the debt is demanded from the company, not from those who lived in its facilities. But the indirect consequence is noticeable.
Each such scandal fuels public distrust of the aid program for Ukrainians in general and gives politicians arguments to cut payments. At the same time, the current state housing contributions are already becoming stricter in conditions, so law-abiding landlords and refugees have to “pay” for others’ schemes.
Apparently, the state has finally started counting money retroactively. How many more such Zipp Residents will surface in future inspections remains an open question.
