Czech high court abolishes acquittal of clerks suspected of high damage

The Prague High Court on Friday again abolished the acquittal of three former officials of the Industry and Trade Ministry who are suspected of causing damage of more than 4.5 billion crowns to the Czech state and the European Union. The Prague High Court supported the appeal of state attorney Ondrej Trcka. The Prague Municipal Court will have to deal with the case once again. The three suspects are Miroslav Elfmark, who headed the ministry's section of structural funds, Bretislav Gregr, who headed the department of funds coordination, and Zuzana Matejickova, who headed the department of implementation of structural funds. They have been charged with breach of trust and harming the financial interests of the EU. Trcka proposed an eight-year prison sentence for Elfmark and five years each for Gregr and Matejickova. He also wanted to impose fines on them.