Lower house committee to investigate OKD sell-off

The circumstances surrounding the privatisation of the OKD mining company are to be examined by a new lower house investigative committee established by the Czech Pirate Party. The nine-member committee is set to be filled and elect a chairperson on Friday. Its results should be presented to MPs in the latter part of 2018.

The previous Chamber of Deputies refused to set up a committee to look at the sell-off of OKD, which critics say was massively undervalued. However, it did pass a resolution saying that the privatisation had not been advantageous to the state in economic or social terms.

A court expert who prepared an evaluation of the value of OKD and two former managers of the National Property Fund are currently on trial in connection with the sell-off of the state’s minority stake in the company.

Outgoing prime minister Bohuslav Sobotka of the Social Democrats, who has been criticised for his role in the privatisation, is due to appear as a witness.