Police accuse nine people of fraud with solar plants

Olomouc, North Moravia, Oct 24 (CTK) - The Czech anti-corruption police have accused nine people of an attempted fraud worth almost two billion crowns in connection with the operation of photovoltaic plants, anti-corruption police spokesman Jaroslav Ibehej told CTK Wednesday.

According to the police, the group attempted to get the licences for two photovoltaic plants in north Bohemia and then connect to the power distribution network by the end of 2010 though both facilities were not completed then.

If they had succeeded, their solar plants could have sold energy for a higher price guaranteed for next 20 years than the plants launched in the following year.

The anti-corruption police started to investigate the case last year on the basis of a legal complaint filed by the Energy Regulatory Office (ERU) where three of the accused clerks worked.

"Detectives from the Squad for Uncovering Corruption and Financial Crime in cooperation with the High State Attorney's Office in Olomouc detained eight people on Tuesday in connection with fraudulent practices with the aim to obtain licences for the power generation from photovoltaic sources," Ibehej said.

The police then accused nine people of serious crimes, including fraud, attempted fraud, abuse of power and neglect by a public officer.

The police proposed that three of the accused be remanded in custody.

The accused mainly intended to get a guaranteed energy purchasing price, which was considerably higher for the solar plants put into operation by the end of 2010, Ibehej said.

Though their plants were not completed by the deadline, the accused attempted to get the licences and connect the plants to the distribution network.

Some of the accused are representatives of the executives and contractors of the solar plants. According to the police, the accused signed the completion certificates of the photovoltaic plants in north Bohemia though the facilities were still under construction.

A technician who carried out an inspection in the plants in December 2010 and then wrote an untrue report was also accused, along with three ERU employees who allegedly enabled the accused to get the licences for the incomplete power plants.

If their plans were materialised, the operators of both solar plants could gain almost two billion crowns in the following years, the police say.