The police will investigate the expensive construction of the Brno judicial complex

Prague - The police will investigate the case of the excessively expensive construction of the Brno Judicial Palace. The criminal complaint was filed by the President of the Supreme Audit Office (NKÚ) František Dohnal. This is reported by today's Hospodářské noviny (HN). The creation of the complex, whose cost exceeded two billion crowns, was approved by former Minister of Justice Pavel Němec, and the construction was managed by officials from the leadership of the Regional Court in Brno.
The judicial complex was supposed to cost just under 800 million crowns two years ago. Today, however, the price has risen to over two billion. Auditors found that the designer created the palace without regard to the budget, and construction was carried out according to a lavish project. The police should now find those responsible for the enormous cost overruns.
"There should be signed documents showing who approved what," Dohnal told HN.
The new leadership of the ministry has altered the project. They managed to reduce costs by 80 million crowns by removing squash courts, Wi-Fi internet, and phone-controlled blinds. However, they owed construction companies, and these began trading receivables.
The stance of former Minister Němec is not known. The chairman of the Brno court, Jaromír Pařízek, stated for HN that all his actions were approved by the then leadership of the ministry.
The Judicial Palace in Brno is the largest construction investment in the judiciary in the region. It consists of two buildings. One is to serve the court, and the other the City Prosecutor's Office in Brno. According to the NKÚ report, the major cost increase was mainly due to the additional ordered construction of two underground floors of the prosecutor's building. The Regional Court accepted it when the construction company increased prices for the additional order by tens of percent compared to similar work from previously concluded contracts.
Due to the judicial complex in Brno, no further investments can be made in the judiciary.
The police have already investigated former Minister Němec in connection with the case of the Qatari prince and for wastefulness at the ministry. However, prosecutors have always decided that no crime had been committed.