Prague City Hall Pledges Full Audit of Road Department Procurement After Corruption Scandal

Prague City Hall has launched a sweeping review following a police operation targeting suspected corruption within the city's road department. According to City Hall Director Tomáš Havel, he will formally ask the Ministry of Transport to review the department's past decisions and will also examine internal control mechanisms, including safeguards against conflicts of interest. The findings of the review are expected by the end of August.

An extraordinary meeting of the City Assembly's oversight committee was held on Monday. By August 16, the current Deputy Mayor for Transport, Jaromír Beránek (Pirates), and his predecessor, Pirate Party chairman Zdeněk Hřib, are required to submit written statements addressing their political responsibility. The committee has asked both officials to detail the frequency and content of their working meetings with the department's director during their respective terms overseeing the sector.

Beránek told the committee that he met with department director Krejča roughly once every two weeks at regular coordination sessions attended by about 20 representatives from other city organizations. "I could not have given him direct instructions, since the exercise of public administration is independent of the city's political leadership," he stressed.

"We need to determine whether this was a failure of individuals or a deeper, longer-running problem. That's why we want to see not just the direct contracts and orders, but also subcontracting relationships and the entire process of how procurements were arranged and approved," said committee chairman Jan Gušbauer (ANO movement).

Representatives of Prague's ruling coalition — STAN, Spolu, and the Pirates — also met on Monday. Reviewing the road department's decisions was one of five systemic measures agreed upon by the coalition partners. Among other things, they agreed to present the results of all previous inspections conducted within the department.

"We respect the work of the authorities conducting the criminal investigation and do not want to preempt their conclusions. At the same time, we bear the responsibility to do everything possible to reassure residents that City Hall's work is transparent, accountable, and safeguarded against potential violations," said Spolu (ODS) faction leader Tomáš Portlík.

According to police, the suspects face a range of serious charges, including abuse of official authority, bribery, and money laundering. Such misappropriation of public funds carries a base sentence of 4 to 5 years in prison, while aggravating circumstances across all three charges could result in a sentence of up to 10–12 years.

Investigators are reportedly examining whether bribes were paid in connection with project documentation submitted for tenders handled by the road department.

Source: novinky.cz