Criminal complaints fly in case surrounding ex-transport minister

Former transport minister Vladimír Kremlík has filed a criminal complaint over an alleged offer he received of a CZK 1.5 million bribe in connection with a contract to audit a motorway vignette system. Mr. Kremlík says the attempted kickback came from lawyer Martin Janoušek, who was representing the company that won the contract. For his part, Mr. Janoušek denies the allegation and is suing the ex-minister for defamation.

Meanwhile, Pirate Party MP Lukáš Černohorský says he has also filed a criminal complaint in connection with the matter. He says that if Mr. Kremlík, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš and the director of the BIS counterintelligence service knew about the offer but did not tell the police they may be guilty of not reporting a felony.

Mr. Kremlík said on Monday that he had contacted BIS in mid-January, while he was still a cabinet member, in connection with the alleged bribe.