The battle over the assets of the investment firm Key Investments, through which the administrations of Prague 6, 10 and 13 invested hundreds of millions of crowns, undoubtedly has a number of politicians gripped with fear. The organs of justice have finally begun to take action: in mid-March the Prague 2 district court ordered the confiscation of the assets of the firm Oleochem, Czech Position has learnt.

Exactly a year ago, Czech Position was the first publication to report on the scandal surrounding the Key Investments brokerage, which could be dubbed as the Czech equivalent of the Bernie Madoff case. While the US finance fraudster received a 150-year prison sentence, the main protagonists in the Czech scandal remain free — thanks to the level of morality and expertise in the Czech police and judiciary.

Prague mayor Bohuslav Svoboda (ODS) could well have become just too much to bear for the party’s cronies governing city hall when he demanded Natland come clean about its real owners. Natland Group, a majority shareholder in the majority council-owned city waste company Pražské služby, was also facing moves by Svoboda to block or alter a huge contract it was lined up to win.

Who is financing the left-wing party through which former Czech PM Jiří Paroubek is looking to stage his political comeback? Where will the ex-chairman of the ČSSD raise the estimated Kč 100 million his new “Left 21” party will need for its campaign to enter Parliament? Thus far, no one has tracked down the sponsors, but the trail is getting hotter, and signs point to Natland Group.