Scandal-Hit Bailiff Ivanko Faces Bankruptcy Again — Debts Running Into Tens of Millions of Crowns

Well-known court bailiff Igor Ivanko is once again facing bankruptcy: a new petition has been filed with the insolvency register seeking his financial collapse, with debts running into tens of millions of crowns. Ivanko's activities have been suspended since 2024, and police are pursuing him on suspicion of abuse of an official's powers — according to investigators, he failed for years to pass on money he had collected on clients' behalf. He has also been charged with illegal possession of weapons.

The bankruptcy petition was filed by the SOS výživné charitable foundation, which helps people recover child support payments. According to foundation board member Lenka Rašková, some of the foundation's clients had tried to collect child support through Ivanko's office — he recovered the money but never passed it on to the recipients. To spare these clients an uncertain wait for the outcome of further proceedings, the foundation bought out their claims and paid compensation from its own funds.

Rašková says Ivanko's dire financial situation is also confirmed by a written statement from his representative, Martin Bartoš, addressed to one of the bailiff's former employees: it reportedly states that there is not enough money in the bailiff's account to cover her claims. Bartoš himself confirmed this and added that Ivanko owes him money personally too — around 400,000 crowns, a figure that could rise to roughly 700,000 once all claims are taken into account.

In its bankruptcy petition, the SOS výživné foundation lists 17 other creditors, including the General Health Insurance Company (VZP), the energy giant ČEZ, and various other firms and individuals. According to VZP spokesperson Viktorie Plívová, Ivanko owes the country's largest state health insurer nearly 30 million crowns — again, money that was recovered on VZP's behalf but never handed over. The insurer has already filed a damages claim as part of the criminal case against Ivanko, though it has not directly confirmed whether it will join the bankruptcy proceedings.

Ivanko himself claims the current insolvency petition is an attempt by a former employee of his office, Luděk Žakovec, to damage him — Žakovec's son Erik sits on the governing board of the SOS výživné foundation. According to Ivanko, the debt to Žakovec dates back to 2026, by which time he was no longer carrying out enforcement work. Ivanko and Žakovec have long been at odds over how the office's finances were managed, each accusing the other of siphoning off funds. Police, however, have brought no charges against Žakovec, who denies any involvement in diverting money.

Ivanko admitted that his office genuinely has no money to pay the wages owed to his former employee, but said he does not accept her claims, dismissing demands from "Žakovec's people" as fabricated. He is withholding comment on the other creditors for now, saying he is still reviewing their claims, though he does not rule out eventually agreeing to the bankruptcy petition.

This is not the first attempt to push Ivanko into insolvency proceedings: two years ago Žakovec already tried to have him declared bankrupt, but the court rejected the petition at the time — partly because one of the key debts against Ivanko was unexpectedly paid off by his employee Petr Redl, nephew of lobbyist Michal Redl, a central figure in the high-profile "Dozimetr" case. Among the creditors previously named was also Prague lawyer Aleš Rozehnal, to whom the bailiff owes nearly 17 million crowns — he says he intends to reassert his claims in the current proceedings as well.

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Around Prague, based on reporting by seznamzpravy.cz