Former Ustí governor implicated in fraud scandal remains in Social Democrat party

The former regional governor, or hejtman, of the Ustí region, Jana Vaňhová, remains a member of the leader government party, the Social Democrats, in spite of the prime minister’s call for all those implicated in a major fraud case involving European funds to resign. Vaňhová failed to turn at a regional meeting of party members and neither resigned or suspended her membership, party leaders told Czech Television. Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka had called on those implicated in the fraud of European funds in northwest Bohemia to resign. Altogether police have questioned 24 suspects in the fraud case, many of them in the regional Social Democratic leadership. Vaňhová’s former regional deputy, Arno Fišer, resigned from the party on Thursday.