The High Court of Appeals in Olomouc has annulled the verdict in the Stoka (‘Gutter’) corruption investigation into corruption in public procurement in the Brno-střed district, and returned it to the Brno Regional Court for reappraisal, as reported today by Seznam Zpravy and confirmed to CTK by court spokesman Stanislav Cik.
The court reached the verdict in a closed session, and cannot disclose the reasons for its decision until it is delivered to the parties to the case, Cik added.
The case concerns the manipulation of public contracts at Brno-střed district council.
According to the indictment, the organised criminal group was led by former deputy mayor Jiri Svachula (formerly ANO), sentenced by the regional court to 9.5 years in prison and property seizure. Eight other defendants and two companies were also found guilty in the case.
According to the database on the Infocourt website, the decision of the regional court was annulled and the case was returned to the court for a new hearing.
11 people and two companies were charged in the Stoka case, including Svachula. He has denied his guilt.
The alleged corruption related to the awarding of public contracts took place between 2015 and 2019, the prosecutors say.
According to the Regional Court’s verdict, the perpetrators formed an organised group with a hierarchy, which conspired to award public contracts and provide non-public information to selected companies. The manipulated contracts were worth more than CZK 260 million, and the defendants were to receive bribes worth tens of millions.
Along with Svachula, the regional court sentenced another defendant, Saman El-Talabani, to six years in prison, a fine and a professional ban. He and businessman Pavel Ovcarcin received a comprehensive sentence, as both were also convicted in another case. Ovcarcin was also sent to prison for six years.
Businessman Lubomir Smolka was given a three-year suspended sentence with five-year probation. The same sentence was imposed on former Brno-Ivanovice deputy mayor Petr Liskutin, and Petr Kosmak, a former deputy at the Brno-střed real estate administration. Businessmen Jiri Hos, a former Civic Democrat (ODS) politician, Lubos Krejci and Michal Unzeitig also received suspended sentences.
The court also imposed high fines of up to several million crowns on some of the defendants and banned them from working in statutory bodies. The court punished the companies Krostav and UNO with fines and bans on participation in public contracts. The court acquitted businessmen Ivan Trunecka and Petr Kalasek, who denied their guilt from the beginning of the investigation.
The prosecutor appealed the verdict, asking for higher sentences for some of the defendants. Some of the defendants also filed an appeal.
