Former Správa železnic Chief Charged in Procurement Case

CZECH REPUBLIC: Former Správa železnic director general Jiří Svoboda has been identified by Czech media sources among five people facing criminal prosecution over an alleged public procurement offence.

From suspect to accused

The Prague High Public Prosecutor’s Office says five people are being prosecuted over an alleged offence involving the securing of an advantage in a public procurement procedure organised by Správa železnic. The Czech National Centre Against Organised Crime (NCOZ) has confirmed that criminal prosecution has begun but has not publicly named those involved. Seznam Zprávy, citing two sources, identified Svoboda as one of those charged.

The procedural change is recent. In reporting published on July 15, Seznam Zprávy still described Svoboda as a suspect who had not been charged with a criminal offence. The August 10 report therefore marks a new stage in the case.

Under Czech criminal procedure, opening criminal prosecution under Section 160 is the formal point at which police proceed against a specific person as an accused after finding sufficiently justified grounds. It is not a conviction, and the supplied report does not give a date for any next procedural step.

CZK 20 billion inquiry is broader than the charges

The current prosecution must be distinguished from the wider investigation that preceded it. The broader inquiry initially examined road and railway contracts worth around CZK 20 billion, approximately €826 million.

On the railway side, investigators gathered information on the approximately CZK 7 billion, or €289 million, reconstruction of the Pardubice railway junction, works in Brno and contracts for station and platform equipment. Reporting on the broader December 2025 investigation described a much wider set of transport tenders under examination.

The available information does not establish that all of those contracts form part of the current prosecution. It also does not identify which specific railway procurement procedure is the basis of the charges against Svoboda. The CZK 20 billion figure should therefore be treated as the scale of the wider inquiry, not as the value of the alleged offence.

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Cash seizure does not establish criminal origin

During a search of Svoboda’s home in November 2025, investigators found Czech crowns, euros and US dollars worth approximately CZK 80 million, or €3.2 million, together with a collection of expensive watches.

Svoboda subsequently said the money represented family savings and proceeds connected with business, restitution and the sale of gold inherited through his family. The discovery itself did not establish that the money came from criminal activity.

Svoboda was removed from the leadership of Správa železnic in December 2025. The current prosecution is a new procedural development, but the exact procurement procedure covered by the charges remains undisclosed in the supplied report.

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