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Czech Scandal Shines Light on Corruption Hints of Personal Intrigue In Czech Graft Scandal
(3 days later)
PRAGUE — He is a church-going, bespectacled physicist and father of four nicknamed “Mr. Clean Hands,” who was elected prime minister by promising to sweep out a culture of cronyism and sleaze from politics. She is a glamorous and ambitious single mother of two who rose from small-town payroll clerk to become part of his inner circle. PRAGUE — He is a bespectacled, churchgoing physicist and father of four nicknamed “Mr. Clean Hands” who had been elected prime minister by promising to sweep out a culture of cronyism and corruption from politics. She is a glamorous and ambitious single mother of two who rose from small-town payroll clerk to become part of his inner circle.
Prime Minister Petr Necas and his chief of staff, Jana Nagyova, have been romantically linked in a scandal that has riveted the Czech Republic, polarized the political class and brought down the government after the biggest anti-corruption sting operation here since the fall of Communism turned up $8 million in cash and stores of gold that prosecutors suspect was used in kickback schemes. Now, both the departing prime minister, Petr Necas, and his chief of staff, Jana Nagyova, are embroiled in a political scandal that has riveted the Czech Republic. It has already polarized the political class and brought down the government after the biggest anticorruption operation in decades turned up $8 million in cash and stores of gold that prosecutors suspect were used in kickback schemes — and the investigations are not done yet.
Apparently motivated by jealousy, Ms. Nagyova used the country’s secret intelligence service to spy on Mr. Necas’s wife, with whom he is in the midst of a divorce, prosecutors say. The untoward surveillance was discovered as part of a separate investigation, two years in the making, in which wiretaps revealed links between Ms. Nagyova and some of the country’s most influential lobbyists, known as “the godfathers.” The scandal, which forced Mr. Necas’s resignation last month and led to charges against Ms. Nagyova, has marked a stunning fall from grace for a prime minister with a once irreproachable reputation. It has also demonstrated, depending on the view, either the impenetrable depths of corruption in a still-young democracy, or a striking blow against the kinds of graft that have permeated many of the post-Communist states of Eastern and Central Europe.
The nexus of scandals, which forced Mr. Necas’s resignation in June, has marked a stunning fall from grace for a prime minister with a once irreproachable reputation for abstemiousness. It has also demonstrated, depending on the view, either the impenetrable depths of corruption in a still-young democracy, or a striking blow against the kinds of graft that have permeated many of the post-Communist states of Eastern and Central Europe. Among the most tantalizing disclosures so far: links, revealed in wiretaps, between Ms. Nagyova and some of the country’s most influential lobbyists, known as “the godfathers,” but also a more personal embarrassment. She used the country’s secret intelligence service to spy on Mr. Necas’s wife, with whom he is in the midst of a divorce.
In mid-June, 400 police officers and an elite organized crime squad were summoned here for what they were told would be a day of rigorous physical training. Instead, when they arrived in the Czech capital, they were handed black masks and instructions for the secret raids during which nine officials close to the prime minister, including Ms. Nagyova and the current and former heads of military intelligence, were arrested. Ms. Nagyova’s lawyer told the Czech news media that she had ordered the surveillance to protect Mr. Necas’s wife, who, the lawyer said, had come under the influence of a religious group. But it was enough to further fan rumors that Ms. Nagyova and her former boss had a romantic relationship. (Her lawyer has characterized the relationship as “intimate.”)
Ms. Nagyova, who faces five years in prison if convicted, has been charged with abuse of office and bribing three members of Parliament who had stood in the way of a government austerity plan with offers of posts in state-owned firms. The latest chapter in the political drama unfolded in mid-June when 400 police officers and members of an elite organized crime squad were summoned here to Prague, the capital, for what several officers said they were told would be a day of rigorous physical training. Instead, when they arrived they were handed black masks and instructions for secret raids in which nine officials close to the prime minister, including Ms. Nagyova and the current and former heads of military intelligence, were arrested.
Whether through love or manipulation, Mr. Necas, prosecutors and associates say, became unintentionally associated with the very network of pay-to-play politics that many Czechs had hoped would end with his election in 2010. In the wiretaps, Mr. Necas can be heard sobbing as Ms. Nagyova presses him to find state positions for the Parliament members, according to a senior law enforcement official who is familiar with the investigation. “I don’t want to suffer this pressure anymore,” he is heard pleading, the official said. Ms. Nagyova was charged with abuse of office and bribing three members of Parliament, who opposed a government austerity plan, with offers of posts in state-owned companies. She faces five years in jail if convicted. Her lawyer declined to be interviewed, but has been quoted in the Czech news media saying Ms. Nagyova did not commit any crimes.
Mr. Necas has not been charged with any crime. But the police say they are investigating his possible role in the political corruption, and on Tuesday Mr. Necas asked the state attorney to question him in the bribery case, saying he didn't want to be used as a pretext to keep others behind bars. Mr. Necas has not been charged with any crime. But prosecutors say they are investigating his possible role in the alleged political corruption, and on Tuesday, Mr. Necas asked the state attorney to question him in the bribery case. Mr. Necas has denied any wrongdoing. “I am personally convinced that I did not do anything dishonest and that my colleagues have not done anything dishonest, either,” he said after the arrests.
Jan Zahradil, a senior member of the scandal-hit Civic Democrats, who has known Mr. Necas for decades, argued that the whole corruption affair boiled down to the hubris of a leader who had come under the control of an ambitious woman. According to a senior law enforcement official who is familiar with the investigation, Mr. Necas can be heard sobbing in wiretapped conversations as Ms. Nagyova presses him to find state positions for the legislators. “I don’t want to suffer this pressure anymore,” he is heard pleading, according to the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is continuing.
“It’s about the personal and psychological failings of a man, a prime minister, who was not able to curb a woman who became hungry with power,” he said. “He is so humiliated. He is finished.” Jan Zahradil, a senior member of Mr. Necas’s party, the Civic Democrats, who has known the prime minister for decades, suggested that the problems were rooted in the hubris of a leader who had come under the sway of an ambitious woman.
When Ms. Nagyova’s home was searched, the police discovered bills for Louis Vuitton handbags amounting to €120,000, or $155,000. Such expensive tastes, and her obsessive control over the prime minister, earned her the nickname “tsarina.” “It’s about the personal and psychological failings of a man, a prime minister, who was not able to curb a woman who became hungry with power,” he said of Mr. Necas. “He is so humiliated. He is finished.”
Ms. Nagyova’s lawyer told the Czech media she had acted in good faith and had ordered the surveillance operation in order to protect Mrs. Necasova, the prime minister’s wife, who had come under the influence of Jehovah’s Witnesses. “What has bothered her most since she was arrested is the fact that the police have heard her intimate phone calls,” the lawyer, Eduard Bruna, told the Pravo daily after her arrest. When Ms. Nagyova’s home was searched last month, the police discovered receipts for Louis Vuitton handbags totaling 120,000 euros, about $154,000. Her colleagues called her “czarina” because of her expensive tastes and obsessive control over the prime minister.
Ms. Nagyova’s meteoric rise began in 2005 when she moved to Prague to work at the Civic Democratic Party’s headquarters, where she met Mr. Necas, then deputy chair of the party. Ms. Nagyova’s meteoric rise began in 2005 when she moved to Prague to work at the Civic Democratic Party’s headquarters. There she met Mr. Necas, then deputy chairman of the party.
When Mr. Necas was appointed minister of labor and social affairs in 2006, he made Ms. Nagyova his chief of staff. After Mr. Necas became prime minister in 2010, the two became inseparable, former colleagues say.When Mr. Necas was appointed minister of labor and social affairs in 2006, he made Ms. Nagyova his chief of staff. After Mr. Necas became prime minister in 2010, the two became inseparable, former colleagues say.
Early in 2012, Mr. Necas sought to justify hefty bonuses for Ms. Nagyova, claiming “she works like a horse.” However, some began to question the prime minister’s judgment. Early in 2012, Mr. Necas sought to justify hefty bonuses for Ms. Nagyova, claiming that “she works like a horse.” However, some began to question the prime minister’s judgment.
“She was autocratic, and was notorious for firing people for no reason. She didn’t want any other woman within a 20-kilometer radius of the prime minister,” said Karolina Peake, the young outgoing deputy prime minister, who said Ms. Nagyova made her work in a shabby office on a different street from where other senior government officials worked. “She was autocratic and was notorious for firing people for no reason. She didn’t want any other woman within a 20-kilometer radius of the prime minister,” said Karolina Peake, the deputy prime minister. Ms. Peake said Ms. Nagyova had made her work in a shabby office on a different street from where other senior government officials worked.
Prosecutors said her dealings with lobbyists were coming under close scrutiny. They said they were examining whether the cash discovered during the raids could be linked to Roman Janousek, an influential lobbyist nicknamed “Lord Voldemort” by the Czech media, an allusion to the shadowy Harry Potter character also referred to as “He who must not be named.” Prosecutors say Ms. Nagyova’s dealings with lobbyists are also coming under close scrutiny. They said they were examining whether cash discovered in safe deposit boxes during the raids could be linked to Roman Janousek, an influential lobbyist nicknamed “Lord Voldemort” by the Czech news media, after the villain in the Harry Potter series.
Mr. Janousek had been involved in an influence-peddling scandal at City Hall, and law enforcement officials said they were investigating whether he and another influential lobbyist, Ivo Rittig, may have been seeking to influence Ms. Nagyova. Mr. Janousek’s lawyer said he had been unable to reach his client. Mr. Necas told the Czech news Web site Lidovky.cz that he had asked Ms. Nagyova to gain the trust of Mr. Janousek and another lobbyist so he could monitor their activities.
Mr. Rittig’s lawyer declined to comment, and Mr. Janousek’s lawyer said he had been unable to locate his client. Mr. Necas told the Czech news Web site Lidovky.cz that he had asked Ms. Nagyova to gain the trust of the two men so he could monitor their activities. Critics have characterized the anticorruption operation as mere theater by overzealous law enforcement officials aimed at appeasing a public so fed up with graft that people often refer to Marianske Square, home to Prague’s ornate City Hall, as Mafianske Square.
In March 2012, Mlada Fronta DNES, a leading newspaper, published a series of stories based on wiretaps of Mr. Janousek speaking with the mayor of Prague in 2007. During the calls, the two men discussed everything from lucrative sales of city assets to who should lead the Prague branch of the state health insurer. Ivo Istvan, the chief prosecutor in the case, said in an interview that aggressively investigating the possible trading of political favors could forever alter parliamentary politics in this young democracy. “This case can be a breakthrough,” he said.
Critics have characterized the sting operation as mere theater by overzealous law enforcement officials aimed at appeasing a public so fed up with graft that Marianske Square, home to Prague’s ornate City Hall, is often referred to as Mafianske Square. Some here have said the country’s extensive corruption is a product of the privatizations of the 1990s, when the lines between government and business interests became blurred. But anticorruption experts also said widespread graft was a lingering byproduct of decades of occupation — by everyone from the Nazis to Communists — that had nurtured a culture in which it was acceptable to steal from a mistrusted state.
Ivo Istvan, the chief prosecutor in the case, said in an interview that criminalizing the trading of political favors marked a new legal precedent and could forever alter parliamentary politics in this young democracy. “This case can be a breakthrough,” he said. “We have been criticized for the scale of the raids and for bringing shame on the country. But it is the people who committed these crimes who are to blame.” Ms. Peake, who was in charge of fighting corruption, said the latest scandal was a tipping point. “There is the realization that if corruption is not stopped, people will stop believing in democracy,” she said. “This case has shown that no one is free from the hands of justice.”
Some here have blamed the extensive corruption on the privatizations of the 1990s, when the lines between government and business interests became blurred. But anti-corruption experts also said that extensive corruption was a lingering byproduct of decades of occupation — by everyone from Nazis to Communists — that had nurtured a culture in which it was acceptable to take from a mistrusted state.
Ms. Peake, the outgoing deputy prime minister, who was in charge of fighting corruption, said the latest scandal was a tipping point. “There is the realization that if corruption is not stopped, people will stop believing in democracy,” she said. “This case has shown that no one is free from the hands of justice, no matter how high in politics the culprit is.”