Plzeň school centre director on trial over rigged CZK 20m tender

The trial of Dismanová, director of the Plzeň School Services Centre, an organization founded by the Plzeň Region, has begun in Plzeň. According to prosecutors, when she was an ordinary employee of the regional office, she helped rig a tender for an electronic financial control system worth more than CZK 20 million in favor of a particular software company.

What the director is accused of

Prosecutor Michal Himmer has charged Dismanová with securing an advantage in a public procurement and abuse of power by a public official. The case concerns a tender for introducing an electronic financial control system in organizations run by the Plzeň Region.

Also in the dock is Miloslav Kvapil, head of the company Dynatech. According to the prosecution, the two communicated about the procurement so that the tender documentation could be altered to work in Dynatech’s favor. At the time, Dismanová was an ordinary officer in the regional office’s economic department, prepared the procurement and sat on the evaluation committee.

“She sent Kvapil the documents he needed, he edited them and sent them back. The goal was to remove any competition from the procurement,” the prosecutor said. Dynatech ultimately won: its only rival was excluded from the selection for failing to meet the conditions.

The system never worked, the money was gone

The regional office later terminated its contract with Dynatech: the system was defective and did not meet the client’s requirements. By then, however, CZK 13 million had already been paid out. The region is now seeking to recover it from the company as part of the criminal proceedings.

What the defendant says

In court, Dismanová acknowledged that she had been in contact with Kvapil while the procurement was being prepared. According to her, these were consultations on professional matters: the subject was complex, and nobody at the office understood it. “Our consultations were business-like, technical and legal. There was no question of cronyism,” she insists.

Asked by the judge about her health, the defendant said she is seeing a psychiatrist. The reason, she said, is the criminal prosecution, linked to a previous period in custody and related circumstances. “I am under severe psychological pressure, and I have to find some way to cope with it,” she explained.

Why she has not been removed from her post

Dismanová heads an organization that supports schools and educational institutions in the region, providing them with technical, advisory, information and administrative services. In addition to her full-time job in the regional administration, she runs a private business.

According to regional office spokeswoman Eva Merclová, earlier violations committed in a different position are in themselves not legal grounds for dismissal from the post of director. She can be removed only for breaching duties in that specific role. Past misconduct could serve as grounds only if another legal reason follows from it, for example, the loss of an unblemished record after a final guilty verdict.

According to Merclová, the Plzeň Region is currently not aware of any health problems that would prevent the director from working. A deputy director has been appointed in case of need.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz