Ljubljana - The case of Tušmobil focusing on the telecoms company's acquisition of mobile telephony spectrum free of charge in 2006 and 2008, has become statute barred for all suspects, including former Tušmobil owner Mirko Tuš and the regulator's ex-director Tomaž Simonič.

The Ljubljana District Court said in a retrial for Simonič on Tuesday that the alleged crimes had become stature barred in 2018. The prosecutors announced an appeal.

Mirko Tuš was charged with persuading Simonič to abuse office, and his prosecution fell under the statute of limitations a while ago.

Simonič was charged with abuse of office for giving the spectrum to Tušmobil in exchange for a flat in the coastal town of Piran.

The prosecution argued that under Simonič, the Agency for Communication Networks and Services (AKOS) had unlawfully excluded Tušmobil's competitors that were also interested in acquiring the spectrum.

Judge Nina Drozdek Draganić said today that the court holds the criminal prosecution had become absolutely statute barred, so it had not dwelled into the alleged crimes.

Simonič's defence lawyers welcomed the decision as "expected".

The prosecutor, on the other hand, said that the crimes would fall under the statute of limitation only in 2026, and will thus appeal at the Higher Court.

The judge said the prosecution had changed the charges during the proceedings only to prevent them from becoming statute barred, thus violating the principle of fair trial.

Charges against the other suspects in the case - Tušmobil as a company (which was bought by Telemach in 2014), ex-director at Tuš Gorazd Lukman and Vopex director Miha Vodopivec - are also already statute barred.