Daily: deputy prime minister had firms investigate hoax

The Czech daily Hospodářské noviny reported on Monday that Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs Alexandr Vondra had two legal firms assess whether a controversial art commission from earlier this year constituted fraud against the Czech government. They found no crime had been committed. In January, the Czech EU presidency unveiled the controversial work Entropa by Czech artist David Černý, who said it was the work of 27 different European artists. It soon came to light, however, that the piece, which pokes fun at the EU and European stereotypes, was largely the work of Mr Černý alone. The artist returned a two million crown commission and both he and Deputy Prime Minister Vondra apologised. Mr Vondra told Hospodářské noviny that that the government had only wanted to be sure regarding the possibility of fraud, saying there were no plans to pursue the matter in court.