Mf Dnes: former museum head secured luxury state-owned apartment under mysterious circumstances shortly after dismissal

The Czech daily Mladá fronta Dnes has reported that the former head of the National Technical Museum in Prague, Horymír Kubíček, secured under mysterious circumstances an open-ended lease to a luxury state-owned apartment shortly before his dismissal in August. The newspaper writes that the matter was discovered in an audit ordered by Culture Minister Jiří Besser. Auditors have declined to comment the findings so far, as has Mr Kubíček. The former National Technical Museum head was recalled from his post last month over financial impropriety. As museum head, he rented the 112 square metre apartment for 4,000 crowns a month, the newspaper said – a location that would normally go for around ten times that amount. Shortly after he was recalled, his original contract is said to have disappeared, and was replaced by a copy with addenda placing the property in Mr Kubíček’s name indefinitely. Under existing legislation, if the museum tried to evict him now it would have to provide him with a residence of equal value elsewhere.