operation oil / Akce olej
4-part podcast series, September-October 2021, for the independent digital newssite Deník Referendum
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Miroslav Trávníček was a trader with agricultural commodities in Svitavy, a small town in the Eastern part of the Czech Republic. He traded wheat, soy, peas etc. When he extended his business to rapeseed oil, however, things took a bad turn. Less than a year later he was behind bars accused of being the mastermind behind a VAT carousel, a fraud worth 40 mio. Crowns.
The police operation that cracked down on Trávníček in 2016 was called "Operation Oil." That same year, the team behind it received a police award. Trávníček, however, claims innocence. Investigative reporters Zuzana Vlasatá and Brit Jensen spent a year digging into the case and present their findings in this 4-part podcast: Mr. Trávníček did not organize the tax carousel, neither did he enrich himself with VAT money. The police file and court materials contain traces of those who might be the true culprits: A complex international network of recurrent tax fraudsters. However, the actual criminals are not being perpetrated. Listen with English subtitles: youtu.be/0P6fN_ZAlTA Authors: Zuzana Vlasatá and Brit Jensen Sound design: Adam Voneš Music: Ondřej Merta Dramaturgy: Daniel Moravec Editor: Jakub Patočka |
Illustrations: ToyBox
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/ Awarded with the Czech Journalism Award 2021, Investigative Category
/ Nominated for Prix Europa 2022, Current Affairs Category
/ Nominated for Prix Europa 2022, Current Affairs Category
Mathematics of crime / matematika Zločinu
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5-part podcast series, independent
The investigation began in 2012 when journalist Magdalena Sodomkova came on the track of expert witness and professor in biomechanics, Jiri Straus. Since the end of the 90ies Jiri Straus has appeared in front of Czech courts around 700 times where his calculations have served as proof in both criminal and civic cases. In the media Jiri Straus has dubbed himself "the mathematician of crime".
However, as Magdalena and her colleague, Brit Jensen, found out, Jiri Straus repeatedly presents faulty calculations in court. Faulty calculations which repeatedly have been paving the ground for unjust sentences. Despite this - and despite repeated warnings and complaints of fellow experts in the field of biomechanics - Czech courts keep inviting Jiri Straus onto the witness stand. During the five episodes the authors exemplify some of the dubious ways in which Straus performs his mathematics. First there is the trial of Tomas Toman where Jiri Straus delivers proof that Toman beat another man to death during a fight. But as it turns out Straus' calculations where done without any reliable input data. Secondly, the trial of Jakub Jurena where, Jiri Straus delivers two conflicting expert standpoints. Magdalena and Brit also show how the Prague City Court as well as the Ministry of Justice continue to cover up for Jiri Straus. The series is also an odyssey into some of the darker corners of the Czech justice system. The authors got access to court recordings of the two trials (Toman and Jurena), and the listener is taken into the court rooms to hear with their own ears how basic principles like equality in front of the law and presumption of innocence are habitually violated. Also, in the trial of Toman the authors find proof that the appointed counsel was biased against his own client; whereas in the trail of Jurena the judge is caught on tape longing for the good old communist times when judging was easy and nobody complained, especially not journalists. This series was originally produced for Czech National Radio, who, however, rejected to broadcast it. |
Authors: Magdalena Sodomková and Brit Jensen Sound design: Martin Ožvold Music: Jakub Rataj Mix: Roman Špála Illustrations: Veronika Zacharová / Awarded 1st prize at the Prix Bohemia Radio Festival 2019 / Nominated at Prix Europa, Current Affairs Category 2019 / Made into a TV-series which will be broadcast on Czech television in spring 2023 |