Government questioning sale of Setuza conglomerate

A court in the northern town of Usti nad Labem has approved a proposal by the outgoing minority Civic Democrat government to seize the property of the multi-million crown Setuza food and chemicals conglomerate. Media reports say the government suspects that the recent sale of Setuza, with which the company rid itself of an almost 4 billion crown debt (around 178 million US dollars) to the state, in reality never took place. The government fears that Setuza is still controlled by its former owners, who are linked to a number of controversial businessmen, including Tomas Pitr who was found guilty of large-scale tax fraud.