Slovak journalists claimed in an investigation published on February 19 that Ministry of Defence contracts signed with regional defence and machinery conglomerate Czechoslovak Group (CSG) could have been intended to send a positive signal to investors ahead of the company’s January 2026 IPO. 

The unprecedentedly high volume of contracts concluded between CSG and the Slovak Ministry of Defence “could have influenced the value of stocks at CSG’s entry on the bourse, which made [CSG chairman and owner Michal] Strnad the third richest man in the world under 40 years,” the Bratislava-based Ján Kuciak Investigative Center (ICJK) wrote in its latest investigation. Both CSG and the defence ministry have denied this. 

In total, the Slovak Ministry of Defence signed contracts worth €60.36bn with the CSG since the return to power of populist strongman Robert Fico and his Smer party in 2023.

ICJK reported that the volume of contracts between the Ministry of Defence and CSG is by €60.20bn more than the volume of contracts signed during the previous four governments between 2016-2023, including Fico’s third government (2016-2018), according to ICJK.

“The majority [of the contracted €60bn] is framework agreements, which [CSG] companies do not have to, and maybe even cannot be met,” ICJK wrote. 

The Slovak investigative journalists added, referring to their sources, that the goal of these contracts “could have been to help the company raise investor expectations before going public, which could also have affected the price of the shares when they were listed in Amsterdam”.

As bne IntelliNews reported last month, CSG's January 23 IPO on the Euronext bourse in Amsterdam became the “world’s largest defence IPO ever recorded both in terms of amount raised and market capitalisation,” according to Euronext.

With the current market valuation of approximately €32bn, CSG became the most valuable Czech company ahead of the majority-state-owned energy utility ČEZ.

Bloomberg estimated Strnad’s fortune at $37bn, making him the world’s third richest man below 40 years of age behind Mark Mateschitz, one of Red Bull’s inheritors, and Lukas Walton, grandson of Walmart’s founder Sam Walton.

ICJK reported that the large seven-year framework contract worth €58bn signed in December 2025 between the Ministry of Defence and ZVS Holding, a 50/50 joint venture of Slovak state and CSG, aimed at delivery of large calibre artillery ammunition, represents the bulk of the contracted volume between the Slovak state and CSG.

However, the framework contract may not be met for capacity reasons even though CSG presented the contract in the materials distributed to potential investors ahead of the January IPO.

ICJK wrote there are "doubts whether ZVS plants at current capacities would be able to meet the large [contracted] amount even if they did not produce ammunition for any other clients for the next seven years". 

In 2025, the manufacturing capacity of the ZVS-operated plant at Dubnica nad Váhom in western Slovakia was around 100,000 pieces of 155mm artillery ammunition, according to ICJK research. The capacity is expected to rise to a maximum of 280,000 pieces following the launch of a new €100mn filling line for artillery ammunition, known as the “screw-type filling line,” as bne IntelliNews reported in December.

Both CSG and the Slovak Ministry of Defence denied that the concluding of the framework contract could have been pre-mediated ahead of the IPO.

ICJK also pointed out that despite international reporting on CSG’s mulled IPO and CSG’s presentation of IPO plans dating back to September Defence Minister Robert Kaliňák denied having had prior knowledge of the IPO.

Kaliňák “does not see a single reason why he should know about such internal-economic matters of a supplying company. There is no reason why he should have been informed,” Ministry of Defence spokesperson Michal Bachratý told ICJK.  

CSG’s spokesperson Andrej Čírtek told bne IntelliNews that "the company’s listing on a stock exchange is a strictly regulated process, including both internal and external communication”.

Čírtek also pointed out to bne IntelliNews that “even the intention to float (Intention to Float) must be formally announced and communicated simultaneously to all relevant stakeholders, including investors, partners, employees and the public”.

bne IntelliNews first reported on the mulled IPO in June, when CSG raised €1bn and $1bn (combining for nearly CZK46bn) in senior secured notes at yields of 5.25% for the euro tranche, and 6.5% for the US dollar tranche. 

In August, news emerged that the international bank JPMorgan Chase & Co. would advise CSG on Amsterdam listing, and that it was being joined by French BNP Paribas, US investment bank Jefferies Financial Group, and Italian UniCredit, according to sources referred to by Bloomberg.

In response to inquiry about CSG’s capacities to meet the major framework contract, Čírtek stated that “this represents an ambitious project that may play a significant role in securing the supply of large-calibre ammunition to Nato and EU allies,” and that “it was announced at a time when shortages of large-calibre ammunition are widely recognised as a serious issue affecting the readiness of Nato and EU armed forces”.

“The framework agreement is aligned with the Group’s current and planned production capacities throughout its seven-year implementation period,” Čírtek highlighted, and added that “the defence industry accounts for a growing share of Slovakia’s GDP,” pointing out that “the number of employees at ZVS Holding increased from 271 in 2021 to 1,394 in 2026”.

As bne IntelliNews reported earlier this month, CSG also faces new graft allegations in connection with Tatra vehicle supplies to Czech and Slovak armies.

The issue was raised by opposition MP Tomáš Valášek, a former Slovak ambassador to Nato, who wrote in a Facebook post that Tatra sells cargo vehicles to an intermediary company, which then sells them to the Ministry of Defence at a price that is 8% higher. 

CSG denied wrongdoing and pointed out that the difference in price is a result of additional services supplied by the intermediary company.