Outspoken Student Agency founder Radim Jančura has sought to bust Czech Railways’ virtual monopoly and often clashed with local and national politicians, and administrations, not always keen to see a new competitor on the block. In an exclusive interview, he attacks the Czech competition office for failing to perform its anti-graft role, and points an accussing finger at the ministers of labor and finance – sparking legal proceedings against him for slander.

Commentary by Istvan Léko. The governing coalition in the Czech Republic is unraveling, but the markets have not reacted at all. “Nobody takes us seriously anymore,” one Czech investment banker complained on Wednesday morning in reaction to the threat from the smallest coalition party, Public Affairs (VV), to leave the government. 

Czech billionaire Karel Janeček, founder of the Endowment Fund Against Corruption (NFPK), says there are unconfirmed reports the Prague criminal underworld has put a Kč 50 million bounty on his head. His anti-corruption group has recently exposed prominent cases of alleged corruption and cronyism involving the city-owned transport company DPP, and filed a criminal complaint against a Prague councilor for embezzling donations.

The American Chamber of Commerce has been lobbying Czech MPs to change the public procurement law to increase transparency and accountability; this month, it presented the new AmCham Wings Award to lawyer Daniel Weinhold and Skanska head Dan Ťok for their work on the Platform for Transparency in Public Procurement. AmCham head Weston Stacey tells Czech Position about the chamber’s work in this regard.