With investigations into corruption at the regional level reaching a critical juncture, a parliamentary deputy for the Social Democrats has proposed a change to the law governing such cases that would ease the sanctions imposed on companies caught paying off public officials. Two top managers of the contractor Metrostav are implicated in a case where prosecutors claim the company had arranged to win a hospital construction contract. This has led to the arrest and prosecution of David Rath, the former governor of the Central Bohemia region.
The bill has sparked outrage because the deputy who proposed the change to the law, Marie Benešová, worked recently for Metrostav as its lawyer. Under current law, if a company’s top managers are convicted of bribery, the entire company must be investigated. The proposed change to the law would exclude the company from investigation if it were found that their internal anti-corruption procedures were set up correctly.
