Police are prosecuting the Brno construction company Ing-Czech in the case of the privatisation of flats and the town sand plant in Černovice, according to Seznam Zprávy. The company has filed for insolvency because of the accounts seized by the police, the server reported. Seven people are facing charges in the case, all of whom are in custody, including two companies. The prosecutor’s office did not give specific names.
According to the server, Ing-Czech is among the accused, as the company with 32 employees sent a petition for insolvency to the regional court on Tuesday through its lawyer. The petition shows that the company is facing criminal prosecution and that on the basis of the criminal prosecution, criminals have prevented the company from handling money and have seized their accounts. According to the site, the company now has more than 120 creditors, most of them contractors. “As of the date of filing of this petition, the debtor registers (accounts) a total of 121 creditors with liabilities totalling CZK 48,212,374.62,” the lawyer summarised.
The case is being supervised by the High State Prosecutor’s Office in Olomouc, and the plaintiff, Petra Lastovecká, did not give the specific names of the accused. However, Jiří Hasoň (KDU-ČSL) and Jiří Novotný (ČSSD), both managing directors of the local sand plant, have subsequently resigned from their seats in the Brno district of Černovice. They are believed to be in custody. Businessman Michal Horký is also expected to be in custody. After the custody session, the defence lawyers did not comment on the matter, but one said his client was Horký. According to the server, Peter Flimmel, managing director of Ing-Czech, is also among those detained.
The case concerns the privatisation of town houses, the activities of a municipal company and subsidy fraud. In mid-October, detectives searched the premises of the housing department of the Brno City Hall, the town halls of the Brno-sever and Brno-Černovice districts, and they also visited the Černovice sandpit. The police also asked Petr Hladik, the deputy chairman of the KDU-ČSL, the former deputy mayor of Brno and a candidate for environment minister, to explain himself and to enter his office. Hladík has repeatedly stated that he is not accused of anything. He said he had provided the police with his mobile phone and computer, access to his diary and e-mail for the purposes of the investigation.
According to some media reports, the case has two branches. The first concerns an attempt to take control of the municipal company Pískovna Černovice. The police investigation here is mainly mapping the activities of businessman Michal Horky, whom the iROZHLAS.cz news server says is the head of a six-member organized crime group that wanted to take over the town company. The second branch of the investigation concerns Horky and a group that allegedly used fraud and bribery to acquire and then sell apartment buildings and flats at a profit, iROZHLAS.cz reported.
Source: Seznam Zprávy, iROZHLAS.cz and CTK
