Čtvrtek 28. března 2024, svátek má Soňa
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Lidovky.cz

ex-Central Group CEO faces tax evasion charge

  9:13

If convicted of tax evasion, former Czech residential developer Central Group CEO Aleš Novotný faces up to 10 years in prison

Police detectives from a specialized anti-corruption unit have filed a criminal complaint against a former CEO of the residential property developer Central Group, Aleš Novotný, and two former managers of the company for tax evasion.

“The [Central Group] file has been sent to the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office with a recommendation for an indictment,” Police Presidium spokesman Jaroslav Ibehej said, as cited by the Czech news agency ČTK.

After a year-long police investigation, Novotný was taken into custody in November 2010 following a raid on Central Group’s headquarters in Prague. If convicted of tax evasion, Novotný and his former subordinates face up to 10 years in prison.

Company majority owner Dušan Kunovský has said the charges are absurd and stem from dirty tactics by its competitors. “We are convinced and we have evidence that the current police investigation for the alleged tax evasion and the related exposure in the media is a result of a tough competition fight in the property market,” he said at the time of Novotný’s arrest.

The police anti-corruption unit now says that between 2004 and 2010 some 700 bogus invoices were prepared by Central Group, mainly for fictitious marketing activities. The alleged tax fraud deprived the Czech state of nearly Kč 180 million in tax revenue. ‘Since we started our business activities we have paid more than Kč 1 billion in taxes to the Czech state. It is absurd that it is us now being pushed around due to taxes.’

“Since we started our business activities we have paid more than Kč 1 billion in taxes to the Czech state,” said Kunovský, who founded Central Group in 1994. “It is absurd that it is us now being pushed around due to taxes. I am not surprised that some successful companies prefer to shift their activities and headquarters abroad rather than be bullied. And the state will then never see a single crown of their money.”

Central Group

Central Group has a registered capital of Kč 2.7 billion and remains a leader on the Czech residential real estate market. It has sold some 8,000 apartments, houses and plots to date, mainly in the Prague region.

Its main competitors are Finep, Ekospol and Skanska. Kunovský sold a 10 percent stake in the company to Global Property Capital of Switzerland in 2008 for Kč 1 billion.

The company’s recent project include Metropolein Prague-Zličín, Rezidence Prague Towers in Prague-Stodůlky and Nové Letňany residential complex in Prague 9. Through 2015, Central Group plans to build 10,000 more apartments and houses in new locations.

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