Turek flew over Moravian factories in a helicopter belonging to the Motorists' top donor

A week ago, Filip Turek, an MP from the Czech "Motorists" party, boasted on Instagram that during his holiday he had visited "numerous strategic enterprises" in the Moravian-Silesian Region. Journalists have since discovered that this actually amounted to a half-hour helicopter flyover of factories, in a chopper owned by his party's largest financial backer.

Using data from ADS-B Exchange and Flightradar24, reporters established that the video was filmed on Friday, July 24, during a flight aboard a seven-seat Bell 407 GXP helicopter registered in the Czech Republic as OK-BHX. The blue-and-white aircraft took off from a golf club in Čeladná, spent half an hour flying over the Hyundai car plant in Nošovice, the Tatra factory in Kopřivnice, the Brose and Dura Automotive plants, and Lysá hora mountain, before returning to base. The helicopter did not land at any of the factories. In the video, Turek is seen holding a glass of wine and stressing that, "as always," he paid for the flight himself.

The helicopter belongs to a party donor

The aircraft belongs to the firm KTS servis and is operated by Heli4U — both part of a business group owned by Jiří Vlk, an entrepreneur from the Karviná district. Last year, ahead of the parliamentary elections, three of Vlk's family companies donated a combined 3.2 million crowns to the Motorists. The businessman himself told journalists it was plausible that Turek had indeed flown on his helicopter: "Possibly… I have seven helicopters, fifteen pilots, twenty flights a day — I don't know offhand which one flew where." After promising to check the details, he stopped responding to follow-up questions — including requests for the exact date and the helicopter's registration number — and did not pick up the phone. Turek himself also did not respond when asked whether he had really paid for the flight out of his own pocket.

Based on rates charged by comparable companies, an hour's rental of a Bell 407 GXP helicopter costs upwards of 30,000 crowns. Had an ordinary customer booked such a flight, the operator would typically bill not just for the half-hour tour itself but also for the aircraft's positioning flight, waiting time, and return journey — meaning the total bill could run into the tens of thousands of crowns.

A conviction for armed extortion

Jiří Vlk is not only a major donor to the Motorists but also a former parliamentary candidate for the party (he was not elected) and a sitting member of the Orlová town council, where he was elected on the SPD ticket with support from Trikolóra. He gained public attention in 2022 for helping fight a major wildfire in Bohemian Switzerland and taking part in flood relief efforts in the Jeseník region.

However, his name has also been linked to scandals. Following the Bohemian Switzerland operation, he clashed with the Civil Aviation Authority over unauthorized flights — an initial fine of 100,000 crowns was reduced to a warning. His name also surfaced back in 2003 in connection with a tragic fire at the "U Vlka" disco in Karviná, which he co-owned: after a pyrotechnics display, the building caught fire, killing a 17-year-old girl and injuring dozens of people, though it was his brother Pavel who ultimately faced criminal charges over the incident.

It has now emerged that Jiří Vlk himself was definitively convicted of armed extortion. The District Court in Karviná once again found him guilty last October, handing down a 30-month suspended sentence with a 42-month probation period and a 30-month ban on owning or using firearms. In January this year, the Regional Court in Ostrava rejected his appeal, making the verdict final, and in May the Supreme Court refused to even hear his further complaint, ruling it manifestly unfounded.

A son's post at a state enterprise

Vlk himself failed to win a parliamentary seat, but his 29-year-old son Adam has built a career in the civil service. He has worked for several years at the Civil Aviation Authority (heading its legal department since January) and in June was appointed a new member of the supervisory board of the state enterprise Řízení letového provozu (Air Navigation Services). The position pays an extra 180,000 crowns a year (15,000 per month) and grants access to some non-public information.

He was nominated to the supervisory board by the Ministry of Transport, headed by Ivan Bednárik (SPD). A ministry spokesperson said the appointment followed standard procedure and fully complied with the law, noting that the government's nomination committee also backed the candidacy. Adam Vlk himself does not rule out that Motorists politicians may have helped his nomination along, but insists he had no personal involvement and does not believe his family's multimillion-crown donations to the party played a decisive role. He owns half a stake in the firm Devap servis, which gave the party 1.5 million crowns, but says he has no role in managing the family business.

Jiří Vlk, whose helicopter Turek used for his "visit" to factories in the Moravian-Silesian Region, now says he does not plan to continue funding the party financially: according to him, the sponsorship was tied solely to the parliamentary elections, and "that's a year-old story that's now over for me."

Around Prague, based on reporting by seznamzpravy.cz