Foto: Jakub Stadler

Štěpánka Zenklová, spokeswomen for the Prague office of the State Prosecution Service, told the Czech News Agency (ČTK) that unnamed employees of the Prague Administration and the company Haguess are suspected of “neglecting their responsibilities when dealing with foreign property and breaching the binding rules on economic relations.” These crimes carry a sentence of up to eight years.

Last December, Prague City Councilwoman Jana Ryšlinková (independent) lodged a formal complaint in the matter. “Following a review of the formal complaint lodged by Jana Ryšlinková and having procured further evidence, the police together with the State Prosecutor have launched criminal proceedings,” Zenklová said.

Prague Administration Spokesman Jiří Wolf said the administration will cooperate with the investigation. “The police had to start investigating the case because a formal complaint was made. We will provide all information and documentation that they request,” Wolf said.      

Three Opencard audits have been conducted by accountancy firm Nexia, the consultancy A.T. Kearney and IT firm Kvados at a cost of around Kč 4 million to the municipal budget. The checks revealed several irregularities, especially during the early stages of the project, namely contracts that were favorable for Haguess. A.T. Kearney concluded that the project was ill-conceived. The city administration paid Haguess Kč 180 million (€6.9 million) in licensing fees, which accounts for around 20 percent of the money spent on the project. According to the auditors, around Kč 800 million has been invested into the Opencard project since its inception in 2007, but there have been zero returns.

The Prague Administration recently revised its contracts with Haguess, which it says will secure better conditions for the city administration. The head of the administration’s informatics department Václav Kraus was dismissed due to the Opencard affair, though he claims that he was not responsible for the early “mistakes” in the project because he was not yet working in the informatics department.         

The audits revealed that the cost of one card was Kč 2,300, though following the revision of contracts with Haguess, the price should be lowered to Kč 1,280. Nexia auditors concluded that the project was ill-conceived, and the revelation of the advantage of the contracts in Haguess’ favor led to suspicion of corruption.

In reaction to the growing speculation and under pressure from Prague Mayor Pavel Bém, Haguess decided earlier in February to transform its ownership structure and reveal the name of the company’s owners. The firm’s majority stake holder is Jaroslav Turek who is also chairman of the company Allshare, which was employed by the Prague Administration to draft a business plan for Opencard. Allshare’s business plan was approved, and on its basis the administration commissioned Haguess. According to press reports, the business proposal put forward by Haguess corresponded almost entirely with the business plan drawn up by Allshare.      
   
In a recent interview with Mladá Fronta Dnes (MfD) managing director of the Haguess Petr Stránský said that his company had billed the city administration for a total of Kč 317 million since the launch of the project. “The city still owes us Kč 150 million, from which according to agreements it will pay Kč 100 [million]. After paying costs and expenses, we have made Kč 32 million,” Stránský told MfD.