Social Democrats threaten to expel Gross

The Social Democratic Party has threatened to expel former prime minister Stanislav Gross from its ranks if he fails to explain how he acquired shares reportedly worth 300 million Czech crowns or 15 million US dollars in the power company Moravia Energo. Party vice-chairman Bohuslav Sobotka told journalists at the weekend that action would be taken against Mr Gross if he could not satisfactorily rebuff allegations that he used insider information gleaned while in politics to acquire the shares for a fraction of their estimated market value.

The former primer minister denies any wrongdoing and says the price of the shares quoted by the press is massively overvalued. Mr Gross left politics two years ago after failing to explain where he got 1.2 million crowns to purchase a luxury apartment in Prague.