Czech road bribery case: 46 million CZK, most admit guilt

In a major corruption case involving road contracts in northern Moravia, almost all the suspects have admitted guilt: of the 13 defendants, only two consider themselves innocent. According to the indictment obtained by our editorial team, bribes totaling more than 46 million crowns were divided up in tenders run by the Olomouc Region and the Olomouc Region Road Administration.

When Judge Eduard Ondrášek of the regional court begins hearing the case, his job will probably be easier than usual. Five defendants had plea agreements approved by the court even before charges were filed, and they will not appear in the courtroom at all. Of the remaining eight, three have received cooperating witness status and another three have admitted to corruption. Only two are maintaining their innocence.

How the tenders were carved up

According to prosecutor Robert Hencel, the system for influencing public road procurement in the region was built since at least September 2021 by businessman and lobbyist Robert Knobloch (formerly a member of the ODS), the then deputy governor of the Olomouc Region Michal Zaha (also a former ODS member) and Roman Lačík, a representative of the construction company PORR.

“Over a long period, they influenced the proper course of tenders run by the contracting authorities — the Olomouc Region and the Regional Road Administration — with the main aim of choosing winners in advance according to predetermined conditions,” the indictment states. Put simply, the group agreed beforehand on the winner of each tender and then split the bribes among themselves. Some of the money was never divided: police detained and charged all 13 suspects three years ago, in November.

Zaha: he took the money, but not for a contract

One of the two who disagree is Michal Zaha himself, whom investigators regard as one of the main organizers. “I do not agree with the charges,” he said. The other, Radek Sedláček, who worked as a construction supervisor, also denies guilt; his role in the case is secondary.

According to the prosecutor, Zaha received 400,000 crowns for a contract to repair the road between Unčovice and Litovel, worth more than 87 million. During questioning in November 2023, he admitted receiving 200,000 twice. Knobloch also confirmed that one of the sums was handed over, calling it a bribe for this contract.

Today Zaha confirms he took the money but insists it had nothing to do with the contracts under investigation. He is not yet revealing details and promises to file an extensive objection to the indictment with the court. He also considers the proposed sentence disproportionate: in his words, the case concerns five small contracts that caused no damage, and in practice an admission of guilt in such cases brings suspended sentences.

The sentences the prosecutor is seeking:

• Roman Lačík, then head of PORR’s Olomouc branch — 8 years and 6 months in prison, a fine of 4.38 million crowns, confiscation of property and a six-year ban on working in commercial companies;
• Michal Zaha, then deputy governor — 7 years in prison, a fine of 3.225 million crowns, a seven-year ban on holding managerial positions in regional and municipal organizations and a six-year ban on positions connected with public procurement;
• Petr Vsetička, an employee of the Regional Road Administration — 5 years and 6 months in prison, a fine of 365,000 crowns and a six-year ban on positions connected with public procurement.

“Two slivovitzes” and coded messages

In the resolution launching the case, investigators cited a conversation recorded by a wiretap in April 2023. Knobloch says: “He gave me two slivovitzes, so come by.” Zaha asks to postpone until the following week: “I’m already trying to get through the booze, I’ve drunk a lot already.” Knobloch replies: “I think you’ll never get through it.” According to police, this was a code: they were talking not about alcohol but about a bribe of 200,000 crowns.

Lačík’s confession and a holiday in Italy

Interestingly, the harshest sentence is being sought not for Zaha but for Lačík — even though he admitted during questioning: “I have to say that what is written in the indictment is, unfortunately, largely true.” He described, among other things, how they “earned” money on a contract to build a road in Loučany na Hané worth more than 10 million crowns: they agreed to crush the soil and leave it on the construction site, saving on hauling it away. According to the prosecution, this brought a benefit of at least 2.6 million crowns. Lačík’s lawyer, Tomáš Hrepl, declined to comment on the reasons for the high sentence request, citing the fact that the case is still under investigation.

The indictment also describes how PORR employees secured the goodwill of officials at the regional authority and the Road Administration. In October 2022, one of the defendants, Tomáš Tomanec, paid with his credit card for a holiday for other members of the group at the four-star La Fiorita hotel on Italy’s Lake Garda. They also met regularly at the U Moravských rytířů wine cellar on the outskirts of Hlohovec, about five kilometers from Lednice Castle; the cellar belongs to a company owned by Lačík and Tomanec.

It was in this cellar that investigators installed a bug. In one of the recordings, another defendant, Vladimír Krejčiřík, praised the cooperation: “Lačík, Zaha and company — it’s all agreed there, because Lačík worked it out very well. Understand that this kitchen works! Works! Works! It’s a mafia.” When the recording was played to Krejčiřík during questioning, he explained that he had been drunk and had said the word “mafia” for no particular reason.

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Around Prague, based on reporting by seznamzpravy.cz