Nadační fond proti korupci založen! Už jste si nakradli dost!

PRESS RELEASE

Anticorruption Endowment established!

You have stolen enough!

Prague, 23 March 2011 – In the presence of U.S. Ambassador to the Czech Republic Norman Eisen, the Anticorruption Endowment (NFPK) formally launched its activities today in Prague's Wratislaw Palace. Our mission is to support the exposure of corrupt practices with significant economic impact on public administration, to provide support to corruption-exposing projects, to exert maximal effort in "carrying through the end" publicized cases of corrupt practices, and, last but not least, to support and contribute to the building of ethical values in a democratic society.

"Teething problems associated with the establishment of the endowment fund amply illustrate the story. But coming to terms with corruption as the functional basis of everything happening in this country is not possible any longer," said Karel Janáček, brainfather and one of the donors of the idea. "Time has come to say no to unacceptable practices. We shall not be robbed any more. Corruption in the Czech Republic is so widespread it devastates the economy," he added. The NFPK Board of Trustees further consists of brewer Stanislav Bernard, talk-show host Jan Kraus, economist Tomáš Sedláček, and Karel Randák, formed head of the Office for Foreign Relations and Information.

The yardstick for awards is proving a corrupt practice with a significant economic impact. The first laureates of our awards for courage were Libor Michálek – a former CEO of the State Environmental Fund, who disclosed corrupt practices in his organization, and lawyer Ondřej Závodský, who reported about a non-transparent method of awarding contracts by the Service Department of the Czech Ministry of the Interior. "These people risked their future and in the absence of legal protection reported suspected corrupt practices in their institutions. The price paid for courage and decency must not be sacking, which happened to Libor Michálek," Janeček declared. Michálek later added: "I am personally saddened by the fact that it is not the government in the first place, which rewards whistle-blowers protesting corrupt practices and distances itself from those who favour destroying evidence."

The Prize for Courage carries a financial reward of CZK 500,000 for Libor Michálek and CZK 100,000 for Ondřej Závodský.

"You can do business without corruption and indeed it is quite easy," confirmed Board of Trustees member Stanislav Bernard. "We will live in the business environment we create," "Corruption is totally demoralizing and nips in the bud any effort for austerity and reform. This endowment fund was established to suppress corruption. The fund exists not only for the sake of Janeček and the members of the Board of Trustees, but indeed for the sake of all of us, so we need not be ashamed of this country," Bernard concluded.

If you have any questions, please contact Monika Vondráková, Director of Public Relations,
e-mail: monika.vondrakova@rsj.cz , www.nfpk.cz. Support us! 800 111 008/0300