Head of Security at Czech Transport Ministry Has Been Working Without Security Clearance for Six Months

Jiří Komárek, a former organised-crime detective who has headed the security department at the Czech Ministry of Transport since March, still hasn't obtained clearance to handle classified information at the "Secret" level — even though this was explicitly listed as a requirement in the competition for his post, announced by Minister Ivan Bedrarik (SPD).

As Komárek himself admitted in an interview, he currently holds only the lowest category of clearance, "Restricted" — which isn't really a security-service vetting at all, but simply an employer's confirmation of age, legal capacity and a clean criminal record. "I don't have it, and I don't need it," the official said of the "Secret"-level clearance, for which he applied to the National Security Authority (NBÚ) even before taking office.

Six months on, the clearance still hasn't come through. Komárek acknowledges this creates "certain limitations" in his work, but describes them as minimal: tasks requiring a higher level of secrecy are handled by his deputy, who does hold the necessary clearance.

A unique case among the ministries

A security chief lacking NBÚ clearance is an extremely rare occurrence — especially at a ministry whose minister regularly sits on the State Security Council. A survey of other ministries found that in every comparable case, officials in similar positions do hold the required clearance.

What's more, requirements elsewhere are even stricter: everywhere except the Transport Ministry, the top-level "Top Secret" clearance is required, and some officials additionally hold certification to handle classified NATO information. The only ministry that declined to provide information on this matter was the Ministry of Industry and Trade, led by Karel Havlíček (ANO).

The case of the former Czech Railways chief

When vetting someone for "Secret"-level clearance, the state examines not only the candidate's professional background but also their personal life — finances, associations, contacts, past conduct and any possible ties to foreign powers — anything that could make a person vulnerable to blackmail or otherwise pose a security risk.

Nevertheless, the Transport Ministry's leadership doesn't consider Komárek's lack of clearance to be a problem — even in light of the recent scandal surrounding Michal Krápinec, the former head of Czech Railways (České dráhy). Krápinec voluntarily surrendered his own security clearance earlier this year; Minister Bedrarik called the situation unusual and instructed the state company's supervisory board to look into it, after which Krápinec resigned. According to sources, it was Komárek — himself uncleared — who handled the matter on behalf of the ministry.

Komárek's department is responsible for protecting classified information, crisis management, and the ministry's entire security portfolio, including defence matters and work related to the aforementioned State Security Council. "We can confirm that the Ministry of Transport operates within the law when it comes to protecting classified information. While the process is ongoing, access to information at various levels of classification is handled by staff who hold the appropriate valid clearance," said ministry spokesman Filip Medelský.

Former partner of Robert Šlachta

Jiří Komárek is a former high-ranking police officer with 21 years of service. In 2016 he left his post as head of the Ostrava branch of the Organised Crime Unit alongside his then-boss Robert Šlachta (now a senator) — both had criticised the reorganisation of elite police units.

Komárek also made headlines after alleging that the then-police chief Tomáš Tuhý was suspected of a "gross" leak of information — a claim for which Komárek received a suspended sentence in 2017, only for the Prague Regional Court to overturn the verdict a year later, ruling that he had acted in the public interest. After leaving the police, he worked at the so-called "Tax Cobra" unit under the General Financial Directorate, during the period when the current Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) was finance minister. In 2021, together with Šlachta, he helped found the Přísaha (Oath) movement, which he later left due to disagreements.

Komárek himself claims he held "Secret"-level clearance as recently as last year, but it lapsed: "Since I didn't need it, I didn't apply to renew it, and then the situation with the competition came up." According to the ministry spokesman, two people applied for the post in February, and the other candidate also lacked valid clearance at the time of applying.

NBÚ extends the review period

When the ministry announced the competition for head of the security department in February, the requirements explicitly stated "the capacity to access classified information at the 'Secret' level." Now, however, the ministry emphasises that a candidate was not required to hold valid clearance at the time of application — it was enough to confirm that an application for clearance had been submitted.

Komárek did just that, but still hasn't received his clearance. According to him, at the end of August the National Security Authority informed him that the standard six-month review period for "Secret"-level clearance was being extended by another two months. The law allows the head of the NBÚ to extend the deadline up to twice under certain conditions.

The Authority itself does not disclose the reasons behind delays in specific cases. Its spokesman, Milan Radosta, explained that an extension is possible if the Authority cannot obtain all the necessary materials in time — for example, background-check results from intelligence services, the police, or other state bodies.

Source: seznamzpravy.cz