The ex-wife of a Martin Kocourek (Civic Democrats, ODS) — who resigned as trade and industry minister after admitting he had “diverted” some Kč 16 million to his mother’s bank account to hide it from his estranged wife during their divorce settlement — has instructed her lawyers to take legal action against him.
“I have made the decision and handed over the matter to my lawyer, who will take appropriate action,” Olga Kocourková told the online edition of the weekly Týden, declining to elaborate; she gave similar brief statements to other media.
When the couple divorced in 2008, Kocourková received a settlement of Kč 2 million, an apartment and a car. The Czech media have estimated she could be legally entitled to up to Kč 8 million (half the “diverted” amount), depending on how much was hidden from her during the divorce settlement. According to Týden, she may pursue an out-of-court settlement.
Klára Samková, a prominent Prague lawyer specializing in family and labor law, has said that before leaving office Kocourek has basically made a public confession of financial fraud — a crime that is punishable by five to ten years in prison.
Kocourek’s ‘difficult situation’
At a Nov. 11 press conference, hours before he was pushed to resign, by all accounts Kocourek failed to present a convincing story of how he earned the Kč 16 million, why he placed it in his mother’s account, and why in March 2008 she invested it with Key Investments — a brokerage that has since lost its license over suspect transactions, many involving hundreds of millions of the Prague 6, 10 and 13 districts’ money.
Kocourek’s answers to journalists’ questions were halting, and he often claimed not to know the details of the transactions — for example who parked it with the New Mexico shell company Eton Ventures LLC – while assuring that “no corruption” was involved.
“All the funds belong to me, my family or are historical. I entrusted it [the money] to Key Investments only to remove it from potential problems from my difficult situation in 2008,” the visibly nervous minister said, alluding to the divorce proceedings.
The money was legal and that “nobody got rich from the transactions” made by Key Investments on his behalf, Kocourek said — although his mother only held on to the Kč 16 million in bonds for three months and earned Kč 400,000 from their “sale.” He also claimed at the time that everything had been settled with his now ex-wife.
See related article: Czech Industry Minister resigns over assets hidden from ex-wife
