Usti nad Labem - As much as 30 European Union-funded projects in the northern Czech Republic were rigged, said state prosecutor Vladimir Jan in a 19-page charge document that summarizes an almost 1.5 year investigation. In this way, millions of euros in EU subsidies distributed through the North-West Regional Operational Program (North-West ROP) ended up in the pockets of pre-selected people, often influential regional politicians or businessmen.
The prosecutor explained that the winning projects, which received CZK 1.4 billion (EUR 51 million) combined in subsidies, were selected by biased outside evaluators. Some influential regional politicians and entrepreneurs benefited from these EU-funded projects, and at least one civil servant was coerced by threats to participate in this scheme.
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Eight people have been charged in the case so far, including three former heads of the North-West ROP office, which distributed EU aid for the Usti nad Labem and Karlovy Vary regions, and former Usti nad Labem Region politician Pavel Kouda.
The prosecutor described in the charge document how one such project was rigged. For example, two regional companies received CZK 47.4 million and CZK 68.1 million, respectively, in subsidies for the construction of luxury hotels in Chomutov and Usti nad Labem. The managerial structure of both companies include regional politicians.
According to the prosecution, then-North-West ROP head Petr Kusnierz hand-picked external evaluators to make sure that the two projects presented by "friendly" companies were selected for an EU subsidy. Eventually, he ordered his subordinates to produce a false report about the selection process. When a female employee objected, Kusnierz repeatedly threatened to fire her.
