Czech state-controlled aviation maintenance, repairs and modernisation company LOM Praha seems to have lost Kč 100 million from a quickly sealed deal to sell four helicopters to the STV Group when a better deal was on the table. The circumstances surrounding the deal have prompted a police probe although LOM says it has nothing to hide.

Under Czech law, a person planning to steal from the state need not fear arrest. If police learn of a scheme to illegally manufacture cigarettes, until the production line actually starts no one can be charged with a crime. This shortcoming of the new Criminal Code became all too clear when police had to shelve a corruption case brought by whisteblower Libor Michálek even though it led to a minister’s resignation.

Czech police president Petr Lessy has responded to proposed reforms of the police drawn up by a Ministry of Interior expert commission headed by his predecessor, Oldřich Tomášek, which criticizes practically all areas of the functioning of the police. Lessy did so by posting his reservations towards the proposed changes on the ministry’s internal website, accessible by thousands of employees.

Following the resignation of detective Petr Krömer, ill-reputed detective Václav Němec is to lead the investigation into suspected corruption involving Czech truck manufacturer Tatra, a source has told Czech Position. Both the departure of Krömer and others, and the assigning of Němec to the case have alarmed police colleagues and raised doubts about the integrity of the Tatra investigation.