Czech audit office: minister’s adviser cost budget 83 million CZK

The Czech Supreme Audit Office has confirmed a conflict of interest involving Alexandra Semancová, adviser to Labour and Social Affairs Minister Aleš Juchelka (ANO), and estimated the additional cost to the state budget from three projects at CZK 82.99 million. This is stated in a non-public draft of the final audit report, which journalists have seen.

This summer, at a government press conference, Juchelka called the reporting on the affair “disgusting journalistic work”, and Prime Minister Andrej Babiš added that journalists were “lying”. Now the auditors’ findings confirm the journalists’ data.

Three projects without EU money

According to the auditors, the case affected three projects under the National Recovery Plan, which for this reason cannot be paid from EU funds. The conflict of interest creates unforeseen costs of CZK 82,988,686.09, which were supposed to be covered by that plan. The ministry has already paid almost CZK 50 million to Semancová’s clients.

The auditors confirmed that at the ministry Semancová oversaw the allocation of subsidies, while her firm prepared applications for clients, for a fee, for the very same money. In their assessment, she knowingly concealed her parallel business activity in the company Siptrade.

On the internet channel XTV, the official herself described the affair as a campaign against ANO in which she is merely an “instrument”. She does not respond to journalists.

Who pays and on what basis

The ministry decided to pay for these projects entirely from the state budget. The auditors noted that the legal basis for this decision is unclear: after the projects were removed from the European programme, the former basis lost its force, and the ministry has not named specific provisions despite requests.

Among the clients is the Prague district of Prague 8, where Juchelka, together with deputy mayor Radomír Nepil, opened one of the children’s groups. According to the auditors, subsidy recipients who chose an adviser with a conflict of interest bear part of the responsibility: they did not report the risk, although they had promised to inform the authorities of any changes. The auditors also place institutional responsibility on the ministry.

Separately, the inspectors singled out CZK 7.2 million for the municipality of Vykáň, paid out in early March. The application was signed by Semancová’s daughter as the then managing director of Siptrade. The firm received CZK 300,000 from the municipality for consulting and stipulated a commission on the subsidy. The auditors concluded: “The ministry used these funds from the state budget unlawfully”.

The ministry stays silent

The ministry refused to release the legal analysis by the firm Rowan Legal to which Juchelka referred, and has not yet decided whether it will seek damages or file a criminal complaint. Such a complaint was earlier filed by deputies of the opposition party STAN. According to spokeswoman Anna Vacková, the ministry does not yet have the auditors’ final report, which is expected by the end of 2026. By her estimate, the need for budget funds is about CZK 69.3 million.

Juchelka has avoided journalists’ questions for the second time, saying only that “no damage occurred”. He dismissed Semancová in April, when the European Commission learned of the problem.

Source: seznamzpravy.cz