Tatra’s former US head insists Czech businessman asked for bribe
Prague, Jan 21 (ČTK) – Ronald Adams, former U.S. director general of Tatra, a lorry maker seated in Moravia, insisted before a Prague court today that Czech businessman Michal Smrž offered him promotion of a public order for Tatra in exchange of 100 million Kč in 2008.
Smrž, owner of the MPI armament company, faces criminal charges over the Tatra case along with former Czech defense minister Martin Barták. Charged with attempted fraud, Smrž could be sentenced to up to 10 years in jail. He pleads innocent.
The prosecution says Smrž tried to gain money from Tatra representatives for removing problems the company had in connection with the Defense Ministry’s order for the supply of off-road vehicles for the Czech military.
Smrž pretended he could influence the Defense Ministry and government officials. For example, he promised to stage a personal meeting of Tatra managers with the then-prime minister Mirek Topolánek (Civic Democrats, ODS).
Since he did not enjoy such influence and could not fulfill his promises, his behavior can be assessed as attempted fraud, the state attorney says.
Adams today described four meetings he had with Smrž.
The first one, initiated by Smrž, took place in Adams’ office on January 11, 2008. Smrž told Adams that he knew about problems surrounding Tatra’s public order and that he could help settle them, Adams said today.
He said Smrž spoke about a help that would require some expenses.
Another meeting, at which Smrž set the demanded sum at 100 million Kč, took place in a restaurant in Prague on Jan. 16, 2008, Adams continued.
He said he neither nodded to nor declined Smrž’s offer, because the tests of Tatra lorries were underway then and Adams could win more time by delaying his answer.
At the time, the media wrote negatively about Tatra. Politicians, reacting to Tatra’s new sub-contractor, were trying to strip Tatra of the public order, Adams told the court today.
A meeting in Brno’s Holiday Inn hotel followed on January 30, with Adams making an audio recording of it. Before, he says he told Smrž by phone that Tatra would not pay 100 million Kč to him.
The audio recording, which is of a poor technical quality and not well comprehensible, is one of the main pieces of evidence in the proceedings against Smrž and Bartak.
The aim of the audio was to try to make Smrž say who was behind the campaign against Tatra and who influenced the lorries’ testing, as the tests were going on well, except for minor shortcomings, Adams said.
That is why, he said, he sought a personal meeting with Topolánek in order to find out whether Topolánek was behind the negative campaign.
At their last meeting in Prague on March 19, Adams told Smrž that Tatra would pay nothing to him. The tests had been completed on March 3 and Adams was convinced that the supply would be approved without Tatra having to pay anything, he said today.
Barták, Smrž’s friend who was deputy defense minister at the time, is suspected of having asked a Tatra representative for a bribe of 80 million Kč in February 2008 in exchange for his promotion of the above order.
Some time ago, Bartak accused Adams of corruption. He said Adams had offered him a bribe for securing further Czech public orders for Tatra. Nevertheless, a court eventually acquitted Adams of the charges.
http://www.praguepost.com/czech-news/35423-adams-armament-company-head-asked-for-100-million-kc