The biggest tunnel in modern Czech history reached the oligarchs and, according to behind-the-scenes claims, the political top. However, the police have not been able to uncover how the state could have committed such a large-scale defalcation. This was the case of the large non-banking company Metropolitan Savings Cooperative. The money was laundered through an extensive network of criminal activity.
The foreign companies to which MSD provided loans defaulted, often had no history and were represented by persons exhibiting white horse characteristics. In 2013, the Czech National Bank revoked the cooperative’s licence and the court put an end to its operation by declaring it bankrupt. More than CZK 12 billion disappeared from the MSD, which the state had to reimburse to the depositors from the Deposit Insurance Fund.
Dozens of people have been accused of embezzlement with large-scale damage in the MSD tunneling case. These were mostly white horses and a number of big fish or masterminds of the corruption scheme went unpunished. However, the police continue to look into the case, and even years later, new branches of the case are still being opened.
As part of the investigation, the police also stopped several suspicious attempts to acquire the last remaining assets of MSD. These were mainly auctions of real estate to be used to pay off the debts of the campelicka. Some of the auctions have been cancelled and, based on their mechanisms, the police are reportedly mapping the trail leading to the main authors of the gigantic tunnel.
The case also involves harsh practices. Apparently on the instructions of the most powerful figures in the scheme, several murder orders were allegedly placed. I have personally spoken, for example, to an Italian journalist who, as the fictitious owner of a company, hired criminals in Hong Kong to extort money from MSD and other similar companies. He was stabbed during a seaside holiday, but survived. The scene of the interrogation of some of the suspects, who were moved by the police to be heard in court under massive security manoeuvres for fear of assassination, for example through underground tunnels, is also indicative of the money and characters behind the scam.
