Member of former PM's political party resigns due to links with player in high-level corruption case

Zakaría Nemrah, accused in a recent corruption scandal was a witness at the wedding of lower house deputy chairwoman Jana Mračková Vildumetzová.

ČTK

Written by ČTK Published on 08.09.2022 10:33:00 (updated on 08.09.2022) Reading time: 2 minutes

Update: Jana Mračková Vildumetzová (ANO) said at a press conference that she is resigning from her position of deputy speaker of the Chamber of Deputies as of Sept. 30. 

Original article: Businessman Zakaría Nemrah, accused in a corruption case that rocked Prague City Hall and saw the resignation of several top officials, was a witness at the wedding of Czech lower house deputy chairwoman Jana Mračková Vildumetzová (ANO) and the godfather of her child, Czech news servers Neovlivni and Seznam Zprávy are reporting.

Mračková Vildumetzová previously claimed that Nemrah was an acquaintance of her husband and she had no contact with him herself, rejecting calls for her resignation.

Nemrah was the witness for Mračková Vildumetzová husband Jan Mraček, a politician of the senior government Civic Democrats (ODS), at the couple's wedding. He can be seen in wedding videos currently circulating on the internet.

Moreover, ex-PM and senior opposition ANO chairman Andrej Babiš was a guest at her wedding.

Last week, Mračková Vildumetzová said she had always met Nemrah in the presence of her husband and had never discussed any work or business matters with him. It was also her husband who had chosen Nemrah as the godfather of their son and she respected it, she said.

On Thursday, Deputy Prime Minister Marian Jurečka, leader of the junior government Christian Democrats (KDU-ČSL), said Mračková Vildumetzová should resign as a lower house deputy chairwoman over her contacts with Nemrah.

ANO deputies previously called for the resignation of politicians from the junior government Mayors and Independents (STAN) movement over their contacts with the suspects in the so-called Dosimeter Case, which revealed vast corruption within Prague's Public Transport Company (DPP).

Nemrah is among the dozen suspects in this case, along with Petr Hlubuček, a former Prague deputy mayor for STAN, and controversial entrepreneur and lobbyist Michal Redl.  Jurečka called on ANO MPs to not apply double standards and to reflect on their own mistakes.

ANO has stood up for Mračková Vildumetzová, a former regional governor who is a member of the movement's board and interior minister in the ANO shadow government.

Petr Gazdík (STAN) recently resigned as education minister over his contacts with one of the accused in the case, and Petr Mlejnek resigned as civilian intelligence (ÚZSI) head for the same reason. The opposition also called on STAN leader Vít Rakušan to resign as interior minister and deputy PM.

Mračková Vildumetzová said she considered the calls for her resignation absurd. "I have a completely clear conscience, and I have absolutely nothing to do with this case," she said.

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