The National Centre against Organised Crime (NCOZ) yesterday proposed to indict 11 people in the Dozimetr case, which concerns contracts in the Prague transport company (DPP). They are being prosecuted for, among other things, participation in an organised criminal group, accepting bribes, bribery and laundering the proceeds of crime. Jaroslav Ibehej, a spokesman for the NCOZ, said on the police website. The case has led to the resignation of several high-ranking politicians.
Police say an organised group headed by businessman Michal Redl systematically occupied key positions in Prague’s transport company so that friendly managers could influence tenders in order to obtain bribes from winning companies. One of the accused is Petr Hlubuček, a former influential Prague politician. “The indictment, which is more than 300 pages long and is accompanied by a case file of almost 18,000 pages, is being filed in less than 17 months from the actual implementation of this criminal case,” Ibehej said.
Along with Redl and former deputy mayor of Prague Hlubuček (formerly of STAN), former DPP finance director Matej Augustín is also among the accused, according to earlier reports. In addition to the DPP, the case also concerns the General Health Insurance Company and the contracts of the Regional Road Administration and Maintenance of the Central Bohemian Region.
The group around Redl, who was previously linked to convicted fugitive businessman Radovan Krejcir, has been facing prosecution since last June. Police officers completed their investigation in March this year. After that, the accused began familiarising themselves with the case file. According to media reports, one of them, businessman Pavel Dovhomilja, has been cooperating with police and has described the group’s operations to them.
Education Minister Petr Gazdík, one of the founders of STAN, resigned last year over the case. MEP Stanislav Polčák suspended his membership in the movement because of his acquaintance with Redl. In March this year, Polčák announced on Twitter that he had reinstated his membership because he had allegedly proved that he had nothing to do with the scandal. Petr Mlejnek, director of the Office of Foreign Relations and Information, also met with the man, who subsequently resigned. Jana Mračková Vildumetzová (ANO) resigned from her position as Deputy Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies. She was criticised because her husband’s best man at their wedding and the godfather of her child was businessman Zakaria Nemrah, who is also accused in the Dozimetr case.
In connection with the prosecution of Redl in the Dozimetr case, Justice Minister Pavel Blažek (ODS) has initiated prosecutors to continue Redl’s suspended prosecution in the half-billion-dollar M5 leak case. It was stopped in 2007 because of Redl’s alleged serious mental illness. The Plzeň District Court has repeatedly restricted Redl’s legal capacity. However, the regional court lifted the restrictions last September and its ruling was upheld by the Supreme Court this year. The police can continue to prosecute Redl.
Source: CTK
