Prague, Dec 12 (CTK) – The Communist (KSCM) central committee decided on Saturday not to discontinue the party membership of Czech MEP Miloslav Ransdorf despite his having been recently detained by Swiss police over suspected financial fraud in a Zurich bank.
Party leader Vojtech Filip told journalists that the proposal to discontinue the party membership had not been accepted and all members of the party board including him would respect the decision of the collective body.
“As this is a private affair (of Ransdorf), not any activity connected with his party posts, the majority came to share the view that he will not harm the party in the future,” Filip said.
“In this respect, the outcome was given by the vote,” he added.
Filip said the party was targeted by many attacks. This has convinced most of its members that this is just another one, he added.
Last Thursday, the Swiss police detained Ransdorf along with three Slovaks in a Zurich bank and then questioned them on suspicion of a financial fraud. Ransdorf and two of the Slovaks were then released.
The High State Attorney’s Office in Zurich said the Swiss authorities prosecuted the four suspects over property delicts.
Slovak Interior Minister Robert Kalinak said previously Ransdorf and the three Slovaks had attempted to transfer a high sum on the basis of false documents in Switzerland and this was why the bank had called the police. The sum concerned was 350 million euros, the Slovak media reported.
But Ransdorf said that he did not want to collect any money at the Swiss bank and only wanted to gain information on the inheritance from a Swiss citizen who died in 2005. A Czech citizen was the woman’s heir, he added.
Filip said the debate focused on whether the case would harm the KSCM in its activities.
Filip said most of the participants in the debate had shared the view that there was a media campaign against Ransdorf’s activities in general.
Ransdorf has refused to communicate with journalists. He said “he did not trust them as they behaved in an incredible way all the time.”
Ransdorf said earlier he would discontinue his membership of the left-wing GUE/NGL group in the European Parliament.
He has denied any wrongdoing.
