Lawyers impersonating oil company officials sentenced to jail

The Specialised Criminal Court in Pezinok issued a verdict in the case concerning Transpetrol (TP) on Tuesday, finding lawyers identified only as Ignac I. and Jan H. guilty of serious fraud. Ignac I. was sentenced to 11 years in jail, whereas his partner-in-crime received five years. The lawyers had pretended to represent Transpetrol board members, accepting claims towards the state-owned crude oil transporter. On June 4, 2009, in Prague the two lawyers recognised on behalf of TP a non-existent debt towards two companies to the tune of €13.173 million including contractual fines. They pledged that TP will pay these debts by June 10, 2009. As a result, TP faced repossession procedures, during which payments from its Czech clients were frozen. The state-owned oil company has been pursuing compensation in court for damages equalling €1.7 million.