Prague, April 14 (CTK) – The Czech senior government Social Democratic Party (CSSD) will not pay 337 million crowns to its former lawyer Zdenek Altner by midnight yesterday, which court ordered it, and they will first meet his creditors’ claims, the party’s media representative Jiri Chvojka told CTK yesterday.
Altner’s lawyer Vaclav Vesely told CTK that the CSSD has no right to detain his client’s money, but said he would not speak about distraint in relation to the CSSD for the time being.
Altner’s creditors demand 20 million crowns from him.
Prague 1 district court spokeswoman Alena Novotna and other experts have said the CSSD had to pay to Altner within the set deadline, or else its conduct would contravene the court decision.
The verdict by which the Prague Municipal Court ordered the CSSD to pay Altner became effective on Monday, since when the CSSD has had three days to pay. The deadline is midnight yesterday.
The CSSD is not going to pay Altner for the time being, citing a couple of reasons.
“We cannot pay as yet because we do not know where we should send the money and we are bound by the duty to meet the creditors first,” Chvojka said.
He said the party will pay the creditors as soon as they prove that the warrants of distress are valid.
“With this step, we are fulfilling the court verdict in its entirety,” Chvojka said, adding that this is the sole legal procedure.
Chvojka would not say whether the CSSD will pay Altner as soon as it meets his creditors’ claims.
“The CSSD is also reasonably afraid of that it would never see the money if it paid the astronomical sum awarded to Altner by the verdict of the appeals court, with which we fundamentally disagree, if it succeeded at the Supreme Court. We do not want the whole sum to disappear somewhere in Panama or another tax haven,” Chvojka wrote in his statement.
He did not elaborate on the “reasonable fears.”
The CSSD has filed a petition for an appellate review with the Supreme Court, which does not have a suspensive effect, however.
Vesely dismissed the CSSD’s claim that Altner could move the money to a tax haven.
“This si a speculation. My client has never used any tax haven,” he said.
Vesely said previously he will inform the CSSD of the number of Altner’s account to which the party should send the money by Friday.
The CSSD has taken out a loan of 338 million crowns to pay Altner.
Altner won a long dispute with the CSSD which he represented in its lawsuit over the party’s seat, Lidovy dum in Prague centre.
According to a recently issued valid verdict, the CSSD must pay Altner 18.5 million crowns for his services plus a contractual fine of more than 318 million crowns for the 5734 days which passed from the day the complaint was filed until the valid verdict was given.
($1=23.923 crowns)
