Brno, Oct 6 (CTK) – The Brno Regional Court set a 100-million-crown bail Tuesday for the release of Shahram Abdullah Zadeh, an Iranian with Czech citizenship who is suspected of tax fraud, from custody, Zadeh’s defence lawyer Pavel Capcuch told CTK.
The state attorneys say Zadeh, 44, was the chief organiser of a 2.5 billion-crown fraud linked to the imports of fuels.
The Czech police arrested Zadeh in a luxurious hotel in Prague 19 months ago.
Zadeh attended the court proceedings Tuesday that were closed to the public.
Capcuch said he will consult Zadeh on what steps they should take now that the bail has been set.
The daily Pravo out Tuesday writes that Zadeh has offered “a record-high bail of 110 million crowns for release from custody.”
According to Pravo’s information, Zadeh has hired about a dozen lawyers to defend him.
“The bail we have offered consists of a couple of items. It combines a financial guarantee with the financial means and property seized by the police. It amounts to 110 million crowns altogether,” one of Zadeh’s defence lawyers, Pavel Capcuch, told Pravo on Monday.
He would not specify the proportion of the items.
According to Pravo’s reliable source, the police seized the property of many companies linked to Zadeh in a raid in March 2014, rather than his personal property.
The network of companies involved in the suspected tax evasion includes 66 firms, the daily writes.
Zadeh unsuccessfully applied for release this April when he offered a bail of 80 million crowns. The courts turned his request down saying he might escape.
Zadeh has been living in the Czech Republic since 1996. He studied medicine in Brno, but he seems to have never properly worked as a doctor. In 2000 he married a Czech, Pravo writes.
Zadeh applied for Czech citizenship in 2006 but he acquired it only several years later. According to speculations, the granting of citizenship to him was in the interest of the Czech intelligence services.
Zadeh officially presented himself as an employee of a south Moravian firm, with a monthly salary of 30,000 crowns (slightly above the average wage), Pravo writes.
When screened by Czech authorities, Zadeh said his parents had left Iran for the United Arab Emirates because they had been persecuted in Iran for their political views.
Zadeh is known for having acquaintances among top Czech politicians.
In the past, two Czech prime ministers, Jan Fischer (2009-10) and Jiri Rusnok (2013-14), both unaffiliated heads of caretaker cabinets, pleaded for Zadeh in the UAE, where he was prosecuted for embezzlement.
In addition, he was supported by foreign ministers, including the incumbent one, Lubomir Zaoralek (Social Democrats, CSSD).
According to Pravo’s source, Zadeh had also access to the Presidential Office.
