Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg(for Greens), who ordered the audit, is also considering asking the Kroll agency to work out recommendations to help improve the work of the police and of state attorneys investigating corruption. Cunek, who is also local development minister, junior ruling Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL) chairman and senator, was accused of bribery in spring Czechs should improve corruption investigation - Kroll detective ...
Lost part of Czech Cunek files not to change audit result-Krolls ...
Czech ForMin wants missing pages of Cunek's file to be found ...
Czech KDU-CSL head has no vision -- Kalousek ... 2007, but his prosecution was later halted.
However, some of his financial deals have remained unclear. Schwarzenberg said he would not sit with Cunek in the government unless his financial situation is clarified. After receiving the Kroll audit result, Schwarzenberg said earlier this week that it gives no reason for him to resign. Nevertheless, it has turned out that some 700 pages were missing in Cunek's files that the Czech ivestigators had worked out and that Cunek submitted to Kroll for assessment. Schwarzenberg also wants the Kroll agency to investigate the police and state attorneys' approach to the case of Cunek. The Kroll agency will keep dealing with Cunek's case also in reaction to the complaint by Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek (KDU-CSL), who says Kroll tells lies when saying that in the 1990s Cunek had lobbied at the Defence Ministry in support of the armament producer Zbrojovka Vsetin, north Moravia. At the time, Cunek worked as a safety technician in Zbrojovka. Kroll says in the audit report that Cunek had contacts with Kalousek, then deputy defence minister. Kalousek today reiterated that neither he nor any of his subordinates at the Defence Ministry had negotiated with Cunek. Kalousek says he considers it a question of his honour and prestige of the Defence Ministry and the government to demand an apology. He said he would first turn to the Kroll agency to correct the wrong, and if he failed he would turn to a court. The audit result, released this week, was rather positive for Cunek. It confirmed neither the allegations that Cunek mediated a disadvantageous deal as mayor of Vsetin, nor that he gained his finances in a dubious way. However, it revealed some discrepancies in his finances. The Kroll investigation shows, for instance, that Cunek allegedly received high rewards for lobbying in the form of per diem, that is not subject to taxation, which might be the reason for a high difference between his official income and his saving deposited in bank accounts. Kroll investigator Tommy Helsby, who with his team worked on the audit of the Cunek family finances for a couple of weeks, said it would have been sufficient to release only the audit's result and not its full text. The full text of the audit in English is available on Schwarzenberg's website. Helsby also said the audit did not indicate that the lobbying was inappropriate. The lobbying was completely normal as Kalousek was then responsible for the purchase of a product from Cunek's employer, Helsby said. However, Kalousek said Cunek could not lobby for the armament producer since he occupied the post of a safety technician only, while general directors or hired experts usually lobby for their projects. "Lobbying alone is not a dirty word but only those who are intellectually capable of it have ever been lobbying," Kalousek added. According to the Kroll auditors, the police and state attorneys proceeded very well in the case of Cunek, but yet certain things could have been done otherwise and smoother results could have been attained more quickly.
(Ceske Noviny)
more info >>
<< Back