MfD: Police uncover large fraud case at labour ministry

Prague, March 5 (CTK) - The Czech police have uncovered a corruption system involving IT procurement at the Labour and Social Affairs Ministry over which 12 persons are being prosecuted, daily Mlada fronta Dnes (MfD) writes Tuesday.

According to the police, former deputy labour and social affairs minister Vladimir Siska, two top executives of Fujitsu Technology and managers of the Vitkovice IT Solutions, Digi Trade, Skill and Techniserv companies concluded a deal circumventing the duty to put up a tender, dividing among themselves the welfare payment market, MfD writes.

The four firms were to develop their own systems at their own cost through which the money was to be paid, it adds.

"It was agreed on beforehand that subsequently the applications will be provided at a token price for use to the Labour and Social Affairs Ministry that will pay for the operation to Fujitsu," the MfD quotes from the police file.

"Fujitsu was then supposed to send a part of thus gained money to the above companies," it adds.

Using the existing general agreement between the Interior Ministry and Fuitsu,, Siska concluded a new, implementation agreement and addenda to it that ensure that the firms could create and operate the new applications for the deliveries, MfD writes.

The Digi Trade, Vitkovice IT Solutions, Techniserv and Skill companies created the new applications, it adds.

A police expert report said they could earn 386.12 million crowns in this way, MfD writes.

This was 180 million crowns more than if the ministry had not changed anything in the existing welfare payment system, MfD writes.

Former labour and social affairs minister Jaromir Drabek (TOP 09) claimed that thanks to the exchange of the old applications for new ones, some 200 million crowns a year would be saved. He resigned when Siska was arrested last year.

Drabek's successor Ludmila Mullerova (TOP 09) has said she will let the police work on the case.

If convicted, the suspects can be sentenced up to 12 years in prison.

The police started the investigation on February 12, MfD writes, referring to the documents available to it.