Mária Trošková

Mária Trošková (born 26 April 1987 in Púchov) is a former Slovak model and businesswoman who worked as the chief state adviser in the Office of the Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic Robert Fico. She resigned from her position on 28 February 2018, after media scrutiny of her connection to Italian businessman Antonino Vadalà, a member of the 'Ndrangheta criminal group from Calabria, Italy, who was a suspect in the double murders of Ján Kuciak and Martina Kušnírová.

Biography She was born on 26 April 1987. She received her university education at the University of Management in Trenčín – at the first (bachelor's) level in the business management study program (completed in 2009), and the second (master's) level of study in the study program knowledge management program (ended in 2011).

Between 1 April 2007, and 1 March 2018, she led a business for the retail sale of jewelry and related services (as of 1 March 2018, this business has ceased activities). She also worked as the co-owner of the company M-Gold, dedicated to the repair and sale of gold and silver jewelry. thanks to which she gained contacts that led her to photo modeling – mainly to showcase swimwear and underwear,

She also worked as an assistant for Pavol Rusko. According to Rusko's statements, after about three months of work, Trošková met "a businessman of Italian origin, who, among other things, was involved in solar power plants, and got involved with him".

According to Tom Nicholson, Ján Kuciak was working on a story on the group as it had probable links to the 'Ndrangheta criminal group from Calabria in Italy. Kuciak included these findings in a prepared article, which he did not have time to publish, because he and his fiancée were killed by unknown gunmen on 21 February 2018 (see murder of Ján Kuciak and Martina Kušnírová). Kuciak's article was finally published at midnight on 27–28 February 2018. Questioned about this employment, Jasaň stated to the daily Nový Čas, "a friend recommended this woman to me". She appeared in public for the first time during the Prime Minister's visit to the Military Repair Plant in Trenčín in March 2015. She was given the position of chief state councillor. On 3 April 2017, Trošková also participated in a meeting involving German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and later also President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. This was considered highly unusual, as normally, only experienced diplomats attend such meetings. The next day, together with Viliam Jasaň, she announced her (temporary) departure from the Slovak Government Office. In a joint statement, they said: “Associating our names with this heinous act by some politicians or the media is absolutely out of line. We categorically deny any connection with this tragedy. However, since our names are being misused in the political fight against Prime Minister Robert Fico, we have decided to leave our positions at the Government Office of the Slovak Republic pending the investigation into this case."