Final Word from Tuesday, October 8, 2019
If Stork's Nest is a test of the independence of the justice system, as Czechs have heard repeatedly, this goes double for OKD. Much more is at stake, not only monetarily, but also politically, diplomatically and socially. The final report of the OKD investigation in Parliament, according to leaks, indicates that the privatization was a broad criminal conspiracy involving multiple political parties, high-ranking government officials, abuse of the intelligence services, double-dipping lawyers, and the duping of the EU Commission. This will reverberate through Brussels (where such hanky-panky is supposed to be anathema), London (where OKD/NWR was financed and listed), Washington (where U.S. citizen Zdeněk Bakala has friends in high places and the FBI is headquartered), and of course Prague. Supreme State Prosecutor Pavel Zeman will presumably call a press conference soon to explain why the amateur sleuths in Parliament found crimes that his professionals couldn't. [ Czech Republic European Union United States of America OKD NWR ]
Glossary of difficult words
to go double for - to apply even more strongly to;
to double-dip - to obtain an income from two different sources, typically in an illicit way;
to dupe - to deceive or trick;
hanky-panky - behavior, in particular sexual or legally dubious behavior, considered improper but not seriously so;
anathema - something or someone that one vehemently dislikes;
to list - to register a company's stock for trading on a stock exchange;
sleuth - a detective.