Police to charge two people in army’s Tatra trucks deal

The police are to charge two people in the case of the 2006 purchase of Tatra trucks for the Czech army, prosecutors investigating the deal said on Wednesday. They refused to specify the charges or who will be charged; according to the daily Mladá fronta Dnes, the police are going to charge former defence minister Martin Barták and arms dealer Michal Smrž.

The 2.7-billion-crown deal to buy 555 Tatra trucks for the Czech army was sealed in December 2006. The police launched investigation into the purchase last year, after the head of Tatra’s board of directors, and former US ambassador to Prague, William Cabaniss, said he was asked for a bribe by then deputy defence minister Martin Barták.