Zeman and Rafaj

Pres. Miloš Zeman has a double conflict of interest with regard to Chair Petr Rafaj of the ÚOHS antitrust office. One of them is "merely" a political conflict. Zeman appointed Rafaj to a second term in 2015 against ANO's wishes as part of a secret understanding with then-PM Bohuslav Sobotka, and Zeman generally tries to keep his side of political bargains. The second conflict is more serious. A company for which Zeman and his chief of staff, Vratislav Mynář, lobbied Kyrgyz politicians, Liglass Trading CZ, is an indirect part of the corruption case involving Jiří Švachula of Brno-Center, according to LN. Švachula reportedly received Kč 20m from GEEN DZ, which has the same managers as Liglass. In addition, Liglass gave Zeman's SPO party Kč 200,000 in 2016. This makes it look as though Zeman has a personal interest in discrediting Senior Olomouc State Prosecutor Ivo Ištvan. The longer Rafaj remains at ÚOHS, the more Zeman and Mynář become part of the story.