The appellate court will return to the case of the contracts for the repair of the horse breeding farm in Kladruby

Prague - The appellate court will tonight review the case of allegedly manipulated contracts for the repairs of the National Stud Farm in Kladruby nad Labem for the second time. The preliminary ruling sentenced 17 defendants, with monetary or suspended sentences. According to the court, they acted as an organized group, but no actual damage occurred. The prosecutor immediately appealed the verdict, proposing prison sentences for some of the defendants.

The case concerns the preparation and implementation of the procurement process in the project Restoration of the components of the national cultural monument Stud Farm in Kladruby nad Labem. The prosecution is related to the first and second phases of the monument's restoration. According to the indictment, the actions of the defendants jeopardized the grant for the reconstruction of the stud farm amounting to 250 million crowns.

The harshest sentence was given to the former director of the construction company Cettus, Vladimír Nový. At the time of the contracts, in 2013, he was the investor's representative and according to the indictment, manipulated the selection process for the preparation of project documentation and technical supervision. The regional court sentenced him to three years in prison with a five-year suspension and a monetary penalty of 100,000 crowns.

In the case, 15 individuals and six companies are facing charges - Metrostav, Metrostav Infrastructure, Strabag, DOB Construction (formerly Geosan Stavební), Cettus, and Chládek and Tintěra. However, the court excluded one of the men and three companies – Metrostav, Metrostav Infrastructure, and Cettus - for separate proceedings so as not to have to wait for decisions in other criminal cases in which they are involved. Subsequently, the court found them guilty but refrained from imposing penalties.

The High Court already dealt with the case in February 2021. It returned the majority of the case for retrial.