Two scandals hit state rail leadership in one day
CZECHIA: The chief executive of national operator České dráhy has surrendered his security clearance, prompting a supervisory board review. Separately, police have charged the former head of infrastructure manager Správa železnic over a public tender.
České dráhy (ČD) spokesman Petr Šťáhlavský said on 7 August that chief executive Michal Krapinec has voluntarily returned his clearance at the level of Confidential, citing personal and family considerations and the fact that the role does not require it. Transport Minister Ivan Bednárik called the step non-standard and asked the ČD supervisory board to examine it.
The same day, the High Public Prosecutor’s Office in Prague announced that police had charged five people with securing an advantage in the award of a public contract in a tender issued by infrastructure manager Správa železnic. There is no indication that the two cases are connected, but they place the leadership of both of Czechia’s main state railway organisations under examination at once.
Clearance returned after a year of questioning
The chief executive spent tens of hours over the past year giving explanations at the National Security Authority (NBÚ), which was examining suspicions that classified information had leaked from his circle. According to ČD, the NBÚ never told him he was suspected of breaching his duties in handling classified or sensitive information.
Holding the clearance was among the preconditions of the selection procedure he won to take the post, transport ministry spokesman Filip Medelský said. Confidential is the second-lowest of four Czech clearance levels and requires vetting of finances, assets, personal relationships and criminal history.
The ČD spokesman said the chief executive retains access to information to the extent his role requires. The transport minister expects the supervisory board to assess the matter thoroughly.
Charges follow raids at the infrastructure manager
Prosecutor Tomáš Kučera of the High Public Prosecutor’s Office in Prague announced the charges on 7 August without naming the accused. Czech news sites Seznam Zprávy and Odkryto.cz identified the Czech infrastructure manager’s former chief executive Jiří Svoboda among the five; he told Odkryto.cz he was lost for words.
Officers from the National Centre against Organised Crime (NCOZ) raided the infrastructure manager’s headquarters in November 2025 in an investigation into large tenders, reported to include the rebuilding of Brno’s main station and the reconstruction of the Pardubice rail hub, valued at almost CZK 7bn excluding VAT. Investigators also searched the state road agency that month, but those tenders are not part of the charges, according to Seznam Zprávy.
During the searches, investigators reportedly found more than CZK 80m in cash at the former chief executive’s home; he said at the time the money came from his family’s lifelong savings. The administrative board removed him on 1 December 2025, leaving deputy Mojmír Nejezchleb in charge until a newly composed board appointed Tomáš Tóth on 27 January 2026. He took office on 1 February.