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Gripen corruption probe deepens

Police reopen investigations into acquisition of fighter jets

By František Bouc
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
March 7th, 2007 issue

Former Foreign Affairs Minister Jan Kavan has become the biggest casualty in the mounting corruption scandal over the Czech Republic’s acquisition of 14 Gripen fighters in 2005. As Czech police reopen investigations into the case, Kavan and others could face tough questions, and even tougher consequences.

In a hidden-camera report aired on Swedish Television Feb. 27, Kavan said politicians from all major parties — the then-governing Social Democrats (ČSSD), opposition Civic Democrats (ODS) and the Christian Democrats (KDU-ČSL) — were involved in corruption. He also said a number of top Czech politicians have accepted bribes in the Gripen deal, worth 19.6 billion Kč ($918.5 million).
Swedish and British journalists approached Kavan last December, posing as British investigators involved in the case.
In the first part of the report, broadcast a week earlier, other Czech politicians admitted they encountered corruption in the Gripen deal. They included Senate Chairman Přemysl Sobotka and former senators Jitka Seitlová and Michael Žantovský. All said they were offered bribes if they agreed to vote in Parliament for the acquisition of the jets.
Lengthy affair
The government first planned to purchase planes from Gripen International — a consortium of British BAE Systems and Swedish Saab — in April 2002, while Kavan was foreign affairs minister. The deal was scrapped after floods devastated the Czech Republic later that year.
Later, in December 2003, the government agreed to lease 14 Gripen fighters. The deal was signed in 2004, and the jets landed here in 2005.
Allegations of corruption surrounding the deal have dragged on almost since the deal was signed.
In 2002, Žantovský — former Senate chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Security and advocate for the purchase of U.S. F-16 jets — reported to police that he had been offered a £1 million bribe if he supported the Gripen bid.
Czech police then started investigations, but soon withdrew from the case due to the lack of evidence.
Despite its implications, the recent Swedish television report may not offer any real proof of wrongdoing.
“The whole affair has been based on the level of rumors. It does not provide any names of who was actually receiving the bribes,” said General Pavel Štefka, who, until the beginning of March, worked as chief of staff of the Czech Army.
In fact, only one politician has been indicated as the possible recipient of a bribe — former ČSSD Finance Minister Ivo Svoboda, who is already imprisoned over a different case.
Meanwhile, Kavan has attempted to downplay his statements. “I clearly told them I never had any real proof of corruption,” he insisted.
Still, the Swedish report was enough for the Czech anti-corruption police to restart investigations into the Gripen deal.
“We’ve come across new, previously unknown circumstances [through the report],” said Alena Vokráčková, spokeswoman for the police squad uncovering corruption and financial crime.
Czech police have joined their British and Swedish counterparts, who have already begun investigations into Gripen deals in the Czech Republic and elsewhere.
The involvement of police forces from three countries increases the chances of the investigation making progress, former state attorney Karel Brückler told Hospodářské noviny.
Paying the price
In the meantime, Kavan’s controversial statements are likely to cost him politically. “Kavan disqualified himself from top politics,” ČSSD Chairman Jiří Paroubek said last week. Kavan was also dismissed from his post as lower house Chairman Miloslav Vlček’s aide for foreign policy last week.
As for the actual Gripen jet fighters, the scandal should not affect the Czech Republic’s decision about whether to buy them once the 10-year lease expires in 2014.
“The actual jets are of top quality, and the [Czech Army’s] aviation systems have been adjusted to them,” Štefka said. “Although anything can happen, I think it’s likely that the government will buy the Gripens.”

František Bouc can be reached at fbouc@praguepost.com


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