Moravia-Silesia Regional Governor Jan Krkoska (ANO) has been charged with assisting in the bribery of doctors by pharmaceutical companies 12 years ago, Denik.cz reported today. The trial starts at the Prague District Court on Thursday.
Krkoska worked for Interchemia Praha between 2009 and 2012, while the company was paying bribes to doctors, according to the indictment.
He is charged with participating in an organised criminal group, and faces up to ten years in prison if convicted.
ANO will wait to make a decision on Krkoska’s position until the Thursday court proceedings, said ANO deputy chair Karel Havlicek at a press conference in the Chamber of Deputies today.
Denik.cz writes that the lawsuit concerns corrupt behaviour by doctors and representatives of pharmaceutical companies.
According to the police, the doctors accepted bribes in return for giving priority to prescribing drugs from specific pharmaceutical companies. In total, the bribes paid in this way were worth about CZK 12 million. The forms of bribes varied from cash, tours, gifts in kind, stays on yachts and others. Initially, 200 people were prosecuted in the case, including 151 doctors.
Krkoska was also allegedly involved in persuading doctors to join the scheme.
The governor refused to comment on the lawsuit for the website. “This is a 12-year-old case. And it may happen to any person who is employed somewhere,” he said.
Asked whether his colleagues and fellow party members knew about the lawsuit and the court proceedings, Krkoska replied that the ANO leadership in Prague certainly did.
According to Denik.cz, the police were interested in the period between 2009 and 2013. Krkoska worked at Interchemia Prague between 2009 and 2012 as the firm’s district manager, with subordinates, known as representatives, who were responsible for contacts with doctors.
According to the indictment, Krkoska knew about the system and participated in it, Denik.cz reports, adding that the evidence and the testimony of other protagonists proved this. However, Krkoska said that he had not come into direct contact with doctors, the website added.
Police initially prosecuted 151 doctors in total, but 128 of the prosecutions were conditionally halted.
“They fully confessed to the crime, regretted their actions, had no previous convictions, and sent 1.5 times the amount for which they were prosecuted to help victims of crime, approximately CZK 20 million in total,” said National Centre against Organised Crime (NCOZ) spokesman Jaroslav Ibehej, quoted by Denik.cz.
Several court proceedings have already been held with doctors and representatives of pharmaceutical companies, resulting in suspended sentences and fines. Krkoska is one of the last defendants on whose guilt the court has not yet decided, Denik.cz reports.
Krkoska has been a member of the Moravia-Silesia Regional Assembly since 2016. He was deputy governor for regional development and tourism during his first term, and remained in the same position after the 2020 elections. He replaced Ivo Vondrak (elected for ANO) as the regional governor last June.
