Influential businessman Ritting released on bail

Businessman Ivo Rittig has been released on bail after being charged with the asset-stripping of company Oleo Chemical. Mr. Ritting and nine other people were arrested in connection with the case on Friday. The detainees are also suspected of money laundering and tax evasion, the police said. Mr. Rittig and two of the other accused were previously charged with creaming off a percentage of the cost of tickets for the Prague public transport system via the off-shore company Cokeville Assets. Based in Moncaco, Mr. Ritting is said to hold sway over some politicians and was reported to have contact with Jana Nagyová, whose arrest while she was prime minister Petr Nečas’s chief of staff helped bring down his government in 2013.

Author: Ian Willoughby