"On the basis of media monitoring, the State Prosecutor's office directed us to take up this issue," Prague District Attorney's spokeswoman, Štěpánka Zenklová told the newspaper, adding that the affair will probably be handed over to the anti-corruption unit of the Czech police.

Dvořák is the owner of a chain of hotels, including the Ambassador on Wenceslas Square, and the Esplanade, in Mariánské Lázně, where ex-premier Jiří Paroubek got married on November 17, 2007. The VIP Club, a company owned by Dvořák, donated 250,000 Kč (14,135 USD) to a charity founded by Paroubek's ex-wife Zuzana Paroubková, Lidové noviny said.

Paroubek has denied knowledge of any tax waiver. Current finance minister Miroslav Kalousek took Sobotka's side, saying that the case had been handled "procedurally correctly."

Czech tax offices receive hundreds of requests to waive taxes or penalties. About one tenth of those are so grave that the finance minter himself has to decide about them. Detailed information about the amounts or concrete circumstances cannot be publicized because they are legally confidential, Kalousek said.

The District Attorney's office has said it would not limit itself to the Dvo řák case, but would take a closer look at all of Sobotka's tax waivers.