One of the figures whose power developed most during the period of ODS governments from this period of the History of Corruption is František Savov. For years he operated in secret and refused to declare ownership of many of his companies.
Even today it is impossible to say exactly what Savov owns in the Czech Republic. The imperfectly applied law on proving end-users of benefits makes it possible to hide the true ownership of companies. Savov wants nothing to do with problematic companies in public. He admits to owning them only after his competitors try to take them away from him.
In addition to the Legios wagon, today it is also possible to discover its current or previous ownership, for example in the case of the car dealer Auto Exner. His name is also associated with the Artesa pawn shop, the Gastro Hippo catering network and Skyport.
In order not to lose influence despite the secrecy of its ownership, it has long financed and still finances some media projects. As we mention in this chapter, he directly controlled the Mladá fronta publishing house, and he also incorporated Metropol television into his media portfolio.
As we have already noted, Savov only indirectly admits to owning companies after he gets into a fight – for example, when several of his assets were attacked by the Strnad arms family. In many cases, however, he has lost or is losing these battles – in several cases, his companies have gone into insolvency proceedings because of the competition.
Savov has been living in the UK since 2012. In his own words, he would like to return to the Czech Republic, but he is concerned that he will not be given a fair trial if he is suspected of economic crimes.
Savov is being prosecuted on suspicion of tax evasion. The Octavian case involves tax evasion of several hundred million crowns. According to the police, he was part of a group that devised a business scheme that enabled them to obtain CZK 770 million in VAT refunds (this amount has been adjusted during the trials, ranging from CZK 500-653 million). However, the case is in a stalemate.
The main reason is the failure to question the accused billionaire František Savov. He lives in London and the Czech authorities are unable to get him back. Savov, for example, has tried to avoid prosecution by applying for British asylum.
The British police began investigating the case of František Savov on the basis of a European Arrest Warrant in October 2014. Shortly afterwards, in November 2014, the request for Savov’s extradition was postponed.
When the lower Westminster Magistrates’ Court ordered Savov’s extradition to the Czech Republic in July 2015, the billionaire appealed the decision to the High Court in London, which upheld the verdict in July 2016.
The extradition of Savov to the Czech Republic is still pending years after two British courts upheld the validity of the European arrest warrant. According to a written response, the Prague City Prosecutor’s Office, which handled the case, did everything it could in the case. However, at the time of writing , pressure for Savov’s extradition is reportedly mounting and the courts are proposing further trials. Savov’s name also appears in other cases – such as that of the bankrupt Legios carriage.
Another suspicion is an attempt to bribe a police official who was supposed to deliberately overlook data on the seized computers for CZK 4 million. The investigation of cases involving František Savov also led to the “Printer” case. Criminals from the National Centre against Organised Crime, operating within the framework of the so-called Tax Cobra, uncovered fraud disguised as a printing business amounting to almost CZK 800 million.
The Municipal Court in Prague handled another case in which the name Savov came up in the investigation. Specifically, it concerned fictitious invoices and VAT fraud in the case of Lostr, later renamed Heavy Machinery Services. According to witnesses, Savov was supposed to present himself as the ultimate owner of Lostr. However, František Savov denied ownership of the company and described the witnesses’ statements as purposeful.
