Final Word from Friday, February 24, 2006
There are numerous theories about why someone wanted businessman František Mrázek dead. The scariest is that he was at the center of a dispute between different factions of the Russian mafia. Another is that he had information that could have sent some ČSSD politicians to prison. The theory for which there is the most circumstantial evidence is that Mrázek stood in the way of the sale of Setuza to PPF. Although PPF might have profited from his departure, it also suffered a setback by being linked to such an underworld act at a time of making progress in improving its image. The person with the most to gain and least to lose, then, was perhaps Tomáš Pitr, Mrázek's partner. Mrázek's timely exit might have been enough to keep Pitr out of prison for eight years on a tax-fraud charge. Speaking entirely theoretically, of course, eight years might be enough reason to kill for. [Czech Republic Český olej]