Martin Shabu

Czechs bought three CASA aircraft for price of four, 2005 document shows

Martin Shabu — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 10:38:26 +0000

Vlasta Parkanová (TOP 09) was stripped of her parliamentary immunity last week so that she can be prosecuted for having signed off on a Kč 3.6 billion contract to buy CASA transport planes for the Czech Army when she was defense minister.

Reformist ODS Justice Minister Jiří Pospíšil sacked over ‘mismanagement’

Martin Shabu — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 14:16:34 +0000

The Czech president has dismissed Justice Minister Jiří Pospíšil, acting on a request by Prime Minister Petr Nečas (Civic Democrats, ODS), who told a news conference on Wednesday he had lost confidence in his fellow party member’s ability to manage the ministry and its finances.

Goldman Sachs’ Vladimír Dlouhý to run for Czech presidency as independent

Martin Shabu — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 09:05:35 +0000

Czech economist Vladimír Dlouhý, the nation’s very first minister of industry and trade under then Prime Minister Václav Klaus (now serving his final term as head of state), will run for the presidency as an independent.

EU funds in Northern Bohemia under godfathers’ control, ex-official charges

Martin Shabu — Fri, 25 May 2012 05:50:21 +0000

Not even three months into his post as head of the Northwest Regional Cohesion Council, Leo Steiner reached a clear conclusion: the distribution of EU funds in the Ústí nad Labem and Karlovy Vary regions was riddled with corruption.

Czech spy service faces budget cut – or liquidation?

Martin Shabu — Tue, 22 May 2012 08:41:47 +0000

The draft budget proposed by the Ministry of Finance envisions reducing allocations to the state intelligence service (BIS) by Kč 250 million over the next two years — a drastic reduction that former interior minister MP František Bublan (Social Democrats, ČSSD) says could lead to the spy service’s liquidation.

Human factor key to Rath probe success, former anti-corruption police head says

Martin Shabu — Fri, 18 May 2012 07:37:19 +0000

The dust is still settling and juicy details are still coming out about the investigation into the detention of former Social Democrat (ČSSD) minister and Central Bohemia regional governor David Rath, a current member of parliament who is suspected of taking a Kč 7 million bribe.

Czech Social Democrat former minister, regional governor detained by police in corruption probe

Martin Shabu — Tue, 15 May 2012 10:21:34 +0000

A top member of the main left-of-center Czech opposition, the Social Democrats (ČSSD), has been detained by police in connection with an investigation into bribes of around Kč 12 million.

Firms tied to North Bohemia ‘godfather’ in crosshairs after EU funds audit

Martin Shabu — Mon, 14 May 2012 08:27:07 +0000

The allocation of grants from the European Union’s regional NUTS 2 program for Northern Bohemia was not carried out in line EU requirements, according to a recent audit by the “big four” consultancy Deloitte.

Czech police president’s last gambit

Martin Shabu — Thu, 10 May 2012 08:54:31 +0000

Czech police numbers must be maintained above the level of 40,000, if not Police President Petr Lessy says he’s prepared to resign in September, he said in interview on Czech Television (ČT) on Sunday (May 6).

Export promotion or reality show? Minister Kuba directs

Martin Shabu — Fri, 04 May 2012 15:03:02 +0000

The Czech government has repeatedly declared the importance and policy priority of supporting Czech exports to countries outside the EU, voicing concern about the quality of services provided by the state to Czech exporters attempting to penetrate such markets.