Swiss prosecutors accuse seven people in relation to Czech energy firm

The Swiss federal prosecution in Bern has accused seven people of money laundering and other financial crimes related to the privatization of an unspecified Czech energy firm, the Czech news agency ČTK reported on Monday. Most of the accused are Czech, according to the AFP news agency. The charges are most likely linked to the case of the dubious privatization of the brown coal mining company Mostecká uhelná, today re-named Czech Coal which Swiss prosecutors have been investigating since 2005. There are suspicions that the 1998 acquisition of the company could have been paid for by money which should have been set aside for re-cultivation of former mining sites but found its way into foreign bank accounts.

Author: Jan Richter