Appeals court opens Czech MUS case: 400-page ruling and three defendants before panel

The court today began hearing appeals in the criminal case concerning the privatisation of Mostecká uhelná společnost (MUS). All three defendants attended the opening of the hearing in person: former mining company managers Antonio Koláček and Oldřich Klimecký, as well as Robert Sýkora, a former deputy minister of industry. The public prosecutor, injured party Czech Coal Services and nine other participating entities also appealed. The court has scheduled eight days for the proceedings. It opened with a recap of the non-final 400-page judgment. Eighty-six-year-old Klimecký will not take part in the trial due to poor health.

The long-running and extensive case concerns the sale of the state's stake in MUS, unanimously approved by Miloš Zeman's government in 1999. According to the ruling, the company's managers devised and carried out a plan in advance to take control of MUS using its own funds, siphoning money from it under the pretext of investing it abroad. They then allegedly waited for the share price to fall and bought the Czech state's stake at a significantly lower price. The prosecution claims they caused damage of CZK 2.37 billion.