The police are interested in the Karlovy Vary hall, seeking answers from the magistrate

Karlovy Vary - The police unit for the detection of corruption and financial crime is interested in the upcoming construction of a new multifunctional hall in Karlovy Vary. The city council has received material with allegedly two dozen questions related to, for example, the tender for construction companies, which the anti-corruption police is supposed to answer. Mayor Veronika Vlková (ODS) informed journalists about this today without further details.
The start of the investigation was confirmed by the spokesperson of the anti-corruption police, Veronika Dumková. But she also did not want to provide any specifics. "I can only say that we are dealing with this matter and that it is being supervised by the District Public Prosecutor’s Office in Karlovy Vary," she stated.
Mayor Vlková noted that there is no exact date set by which the city council must prepare answers. The individual departments will prepare the documents. No one from the city leadership wanted to say why the police are interested in the tender. However, during the council meeting on December 19, opposition councilor Jiří Kotek (SNK ED) criticized the selection process, in which the consortium of construction companies Syner, Baustav, and Metrostav emerged victorious. He even suggested that it could be a case of corruption.
The mayor stated that she herself is dealing with the circumstances surrounding the selection of the contractor for the multifunctional hall and wants to have clarity in the matter. For this reason, she spoke with some participants in the drawing of companies, such as the notary. Otherwise, she is calm because the tender took place before the municipal elections in November and it was a matter of the former city leadership, she said. "So far, I have not discovered anything that could cast doubt on the selection process or confirm any corrupt conduct," she remarked.
Deputy Petr Keřka (ODS) admitted that the police's questions are related to the preparation of the hall's construction, which began in 2002. He did not want to answer what exactly the police inquired about. He also declined to comment on whether the police's interest might be related to Syner's participation in the hall's construction tender.
Influential Liberec entrepreneur and co-owner of the construction company Syner, Petr Syrovátko, has been charged with bribery. However, he states that he feels innocent. On the advice of his lawyer, he will not comment on the case. Syrovátko allegedly provided a bribe to secure a 200 million crown contract for the expansion of the Liberec hospital. He faces up to five years in prison for this. Prosecutors stumbled upon the case during the investigation of a bribery scandal involving the company Tender Group Plus.
The ceremonial start of the hall's construction and the laying of the cornerstone will take place on Thursday. The city has so far invested about 24 million crowns in preparatory work related to the construction. The money was allocated for the processing of documentation for the zoning procedure and building permit. Of the total costs for the multifunctional hall, Karlovy Vary is expected to pay around 924.5 million crowns. An additional 155 million crowns is a promised state subsidy. The council approved that the city can borrow up to 600 million crowns for the construction from Komerční banka.