Prague - Following years of postponement the Central Executorial Register is expected to launch its operation during the month of February. As Aktuálně.cz learned, though, the sensitive data are going to be handled by a private company with an unknown owner.
The Czech Chamber of Executors authorized Neutrics, a private entity, to run the register's web site despite the fact it should be the Chamber to administer the confidential personal information, as set by law.
Neutrics will thus gain access to thousands of debtors and information about their debts and personal accounts. Such data can be easily abused.
The Neutrics representatives, however, decline to disclose the names of the company's owners.
"It can be whoever, Russians, Ukrainians … They [Neutrics] received a huge amount of personal data that can be used to blackmail people," said executor Jiří Doležal. "That's why I refused to give Neutrics the names of my debtors," he added.
Breaching the law
The Czech law authorizes the Chamber of Executors to run its web site but the Chamber hired a private firm Neutrics to do their job in 2006.
According to the contracts signed between the Chamber and Neutrics, the monthly fee for running the register is CZK 178,000 and CZK 1 million for an information system. Neutrics also runs an auction server e-aukce.com. However, the Czech business register does not specify who the owner of Neutrics is.
The last owner of Neutrics - Per Fas, registered in Lichtenstein - sold the company in 2006 but will not say to whom. The Alp kingdom of Lichtenstein is generally considered a tax paradise and is listed among the tax evasion countries with the OECD.
„I sold the stocks but will not say to whom. Only in case you give me the money I would have to pay by breaching the clause of confidentiality I signed," said Petr Vlach, Per Far's representative.
Jiří Němec, acting on behalf of Neutrics, also declined to reveal his boss.
"Why do you want to know that?" Němec asked Aktuálně.cz over the phone from the US. "I cannot talk now. Czech physical entities won the company. But it does not matter who it is. I do not want to have that in the media," said Němec.
Executive manager Jan Šebek is equally silent about the Neutrics owner.
"I cannot talk, since I am bound by confidentiality," he said.
The Chamber of Executors is far from being eloquent. Only after publishing this article, the Chamber's secretary sent few answers but none of them stated who it is going to handle such sensitive information like people's debts.
