Prosecutor sends case on ANO deputy's property transfer back for further investigation

Prosecutor Vladimír Krejčíř has overturned a police decision to close a case involving the transfer of real estate from businessman Jiří Svoboda Sr. to his son — ANO parliamentary deputy Jiří Svoboda Jr. According to the prosecutor, the police's conclusions were inadequate and overly simplistic, so the case has been sent back for further review.

Police had earlier concluded that although the property transfer was indeed an attempt to dodge debt repayment, the father and son's actions did not constitute the crime of causing harm to a creditor. The prosecutor disagreed and demanded a fresh assessment of exactly what assets Svoboda Sr. would have had left had he completed the transfer of property to his son and one of his companies.

A dispute with a business partner and an attempt to shield assets

Police first took up the Svoboda family case after a complaint from a businesswoman who had won a commercial dispute against the deputy's father. She had previously purchased a company from him, but the court ruled that Svoboda Sr. had acted improperly in the deal. The court ordered him to repay 300,000 euros plus 192,000 euros in late-payment interest.

Despite the ruling having taken legal effect, the money was never paid. Instead, the businessman filed an application to transfer his property to his son — by then already an elected ANO deputy. The transfer covered 17 plots of land and five houses, including the building that now houses Svoboda Jr.'s constituency office. The application sat with the cadastral office for eight days before the father withdrew it himself.

Even while closing the case, police acknowledged that this had clearly been an attempt to shield assets from future enforcement. In their view, Svoboda Sr. understood that if he failed to voluntarily settle the court-ordered debt, enforcement proceedings would follow. However, according to police calculations, he would allegedly still have had enough assets left to cover the debt even after transferring the property to his son and the company.

Timeline: from opening the office to the asset freeze

In early November last year, Deputy Svoboda opened his constituency office in his father's building. On 15 December — after losing the court case and being ordered to pay more than 12 million crowns — the father began transferring tens of millions of crowns' worth of property to his son, including the very building housing the office. The story broke in the media the following day, and on 23 December the father withdrew the transfer application.

In early January, the court issued a precautionary measure barring Svoboda Sr. from selling or gifting the property, and a court bailiff began enforcement proceedings to recover more than 15 million crowns. In late March, the Supreme Court suspended the enforcement pending the businessman's appeal in cassation. At the end of August, police closed the case, but the injured party filed a complaint, and the prosecutor overturned the decision.

Deputy and father deny wrongdoing

Jan Dřevňák, the lawyer representing the affected businesswoman, disagreed with the police's conclusions and succeeded in having them reviewed. Investigators must now reassess what assets Svoboda Sr. would have retained had the transaction been completed, and decide anew, on that basis, whether a crime was committed.

Both men deny any wrongdoing. "I reject any suggestion of criminal activity," said Deputy Jiří Svoboda Jr., adding that the property transfer was halted to remove any doubts even before the court imposed its precautionary measure. His father made similar remarks, insisting that neither he nor his son broke the law.

Police spokeswoman Petra Hrubá and prosecutor Vladimír Krejčíř offered only general comments, confirming that the review is still ongoing and, according to the prosecutor, will take some time given the complexity of the case subject's property arrangements.

Around Prague, based on reporting by seznamzpravy.cz