Z kauzy Předražené jízdenky profitoval Ivo Rittig

Lobbyist Ivo Rittig stands behind the case of overpriced tickets sold by the Prague Public Transport Company. He is probably the beneficial recipient of the sum of CZK 0.17 per ticket, amounting in total to almost seven million CZK per annum.  This follows from documents at the disposal of the Anticorruption Endowment (NFPK).

For it to win a contract on supply of tickets to the Prague Public Transport Company, the firm Neograph, a.s. had to accept the condition in 2007 that relations between it and the Prague transit authority be managed by an intermediary, the British Virgin Islands-registered firm Cokeville Assets Inc. Neograph committed itself to pay 0.17 CZK per one printed ticket to the firm. Neograph did not receive any payments. In practice, the transport company paid 0.34 CZK per ticket to Neograph, a.s., which passed over 0.17 CZK from the amount to the firm Cokeville Assets Inc. Cokeville Assets and lobbyist Ivo Rittig are parties to a consultancy and advisory contract.  It is therefore probable that Ivo Rittig was the beneficial recipient of the sum of 0.17 CZK per ticket. The operation was organized by people associated with the solicitor’s office Šachta & Partners, v.o.s, the providers of legal services to Ivo Rittig.

“I trust the exposure of the case will alarm fraudsters in this country and encourage all those trying to fight corruption,” says Chairman of the Anticorruption Endowment’s Board of Directors Karel Janeček, who adds: “We have  prepared another encouragement for decent people on Friday, 9 December, the International Day of Struggle against Corruption. Our endowment will award a price for courage of hundreds of thousands of crowns to a third whistleblower.” The first two awardees in spring 2011 were Libor Michálek and Ondřej Závodský.

Contacts:  Bob  Fliedr, Communications Manager, NFPK, tel.: 734 315 354, e-mail: bob.fliedr@nfpk.cz, www.nfpk.cz