Daily: bugging device found in car

A bugging device was uncovered in the car of Transport Minister and Public Affairs party member Pavel Dobeš last autumn, the Czech daily Mladá fronta Dnes reports. Technicians allegedly found the listening device during a technical check. At the time, Mr Dobeš’s chauffeur was Tomáš Jánský, the paper said, describing him as an aide to the party’s de facto leader Vít Bárta and to the ABL security agency that Mr Bárta owned before entering high politics.

Last autumn, no one reported the uncovered bug in the transport minister’s car to the police, who learned about it only in connection with a different investigation. According to the newspaper, Tomáš Jánský figured in a police file concerning Vít Bárta’s alleged attempt to bribe then-fellow Public Affairs MPs Kristýna Kočí and Jaroslav Škárka. Mr Bárta was himself transport minister from mid-2010 to April 2011 when he resigned over suspected corruption.

Author: Sarah Borufka