Czech Třebíč whisky investments collapse into 100m-crown scheme

The founder of the Třebíč investment fund, Ondřej Hladek, has been charged with fraud: according to the prosecution, a scheme selling barrels of Czech whisky turned into a classic pyramid scheme that hurt more than 700 investors to the tune of over 100 million crowns. Hladek faces five to ten years in prison.

The story began promisingly: in 2007, whisky enthusiast Tomáš Dyntar decided to open a bar serving his own single malt whisky in his native Třebíč. In 2014 the brand Třebíč Old Town Distillery and the company Česká Whisky appeared, later combined under the Třebíč Holding group. David Kratochvíl joined Dyntar in growing the business, pushing plans for international expansion.

Because producing and long-term barrel-aging of whisky required serious investment, the Třebíč SICAV investment fund was launched in 2019. Its creator was none other than Hladek, then a board member of Třebíč Holding. Qualified investors could put in from one million crowns and receive a guaranteed return of 6.1% a year over a six-year horizon.

From 2020 the companies also began offering direct investments in specific barrels of spirits — with a promised return of up to 8% a year or the return of the barrel itself once the term expired. However, according to prosecutor Jan Adam, the number of barrels sold did not match reality — more were sold than the company had actually bought. The whisky's quality also fell short of what was promised, meaning the investments could never deliver the promised returns.

According to the investigation, interest paid to early investors came from money put in by new investors. “It was something like a pyramid scheme,” is how prosecutor Adam described the arrangement. Many investors never got their money back at all, which led to a growing number of police complaints. The case is further complicated by the bankruptcy of related companies: insolvency proceedings have been opened against the assets of Česká Whisky and its parent group Třebíč Holding at creditors' request.

It is precisely because of the ongoing bankruptcy proceedings that prosecutors did not charge the companies themselves and instead focused on Hladek as an individual — otherwise, according to Adam, the case would be proceeding “against an empty shell.” Hladek himself has not publicly commented on the charges. The further fate of the case will now be decided by the Regional Court in Brno.