Court in Brno imposed two suspended sentences and fines in connection with the housing case

The Brno Municipal Court today imposed suspended sentences and fines on two people for bribery in connection with the so-called Brno housing case. The court approved the plea bargain, so the decision is final. The case is closely related to the case surrounding Otakar Bradáč, the former chairman of the housing commission of the Brno-střed district and an ODS politician, in which police are prosecuting several people. That part of the investigation is still ongoing. These are the first people convicted in connection with the case.

Erik Kowolowski was given an 18-month suspended sentence suspended for three years and a fine of CZK 50,000. Marketa Ilčáková was given 15 months suspended for two years and a fine of CZK 40,000. Both have fully confessed, and in February this year both agreed to a plea bargain with the prosecutor.

According to the approved agreement, Kowolowski was favoured in the waiting list for a municipal flat as a result of false information in his application for an apartment in Hrnčířská Street. He stated, for example, that his daughter had a spinal injury, was immobile and needed to be cared for, or that his girlfriend was pregnant. As a result, he obtained an apartment in just a few months, whereas it usually takes years. According to the agreement, he was advised by other people who could have influenced the allocation of the apartment, including the then chairman of the housing commission, Bradáč. In return, according to the agreement, he gave them a bribe of CZK 300,000. According to the approved agreement, he also advised Ičáková on how to proceed in order to obtain a municipal flat in Veveří. According to the agreement, Ilčáková gave a bribe of CZK 250,000.

"These cases were completely clear, both defendants confessed from the beginning of the criminal proceedings and signalled from the start that they were interested in concluding agreements," prosecutor Petra Lastovecká said. She said that both defendants were also very helpful regarding the main branch of the case. "They have fully confessed to their criminal activity, and because they had to cooperate with other persons who were involved in their criminal activity, they naturally describe the criminal activity of these persons," the prosecutor said.

Next week, the city court will take up another similar case, a police officer accused of bribery. In this case, the court will deal with the case in the main trial.

Police officers intervened in Brno in October 2022 on suspicion of machinations with flats in the Brno-Central district. Eight people were arrested. The High State Prosecutor's Office in Olomouc initiated criminal proceedings against the men for participation in an organised criminal group, accepting bribes for the benefit of the group and abuse of official authority. Last February, the Supreme State Prosecutor's Office cancelled the prosecution of two of them, and police then began prosecuting three more people.

In the second half of October 2022, police officers intervened in Brno for the second time, at the housing department of the municipality, at the Brno-sever, Brno-Černovice town hall, at the Černovice sandpit and at the office of the then outgoing deputy mayor and now environment minister Petr Hladík (KDU-ČSL). Police are prosecuting nine people and three companies in the case surrounding the sand plant in Brno-Cernovice, but not Hladik.

A third case loosely related to the previous cases followed in November 2022, when criminals suspected two women of unauthorised disposal of non-residential premises in a house in Hlinky in Brno. The NSZ dropped their prosecution last February, but the police subsequently charged the women again, along with two other people.

The legal provision on plea bargaining came into force in autumn 2020. The defendant can agree with the prosecutor on a plea bargain, and the court approves the agreement. The provision is intended to make criminal proceedings easier and faster by eliminating the need for evidence.

Source: CTK