ČEZ Group has filed lawsuits with the relevant courts in Luxembourg challenging the blocking of companies through which it holds a majority stake in the gas distribution company GasNet. ČEZ Group spokesman Ladislav Kříž confirmed this to Czech Radio. ČEZ Group described the move by the Luxembourg authorities as unlawful and harassing, saying it had no connection to the case.[1][2]
The blocking order
ČEZ Group announced the blocking order on Monday, 12 October 2026. It was approved by the Luxembourg judiciary at the request of Diag Human, a company belonging to businessman Josef Šťáva. ČEZ Group received notice from a Luxembourg court bailiff of two decisions. They concern the company CGN (Czech Gas Networks S.à r.l.), in which ČEZ Group holds roughly 55 percent, and the company CGNI (Czech Gas Networks Investments S.à r.l.), which CGN owns outright. CGNI owns the Czech company Czech Grid Holding, which in turn owns GasNet and GasNet Služby. According to ČEZ Group, the decisions restrict both companies in dealing with assets they hold that belong to the Czech Republic and to ČEZ Group. The state owns roughly 70 percent of ČEZ Group.[1][2][4][5]
ČEZ Group's position
ČEZ Group stated that Diag Human has no legal claim, and never has had any legal claim, against ČEZ Group or any other company in the group. Any claims, it said, can only be directed against the Czech Republic, since ČEZ Group is not named in the arbitration award, was not a party to the proceedings, and had nothing to do with them. Based on legal analyses, the company expects the Luxembourg courts to overturn the blocking decisions within a matter of months.[1][2]
Background of the dispute
In the Diag Human case, Josef Šťáva is seeking approximately CZK 17 billion in compensation from the Czech state. According to ČT24, the dispute stems from a tender held by the Ministry of Health for the processing of blood plasma in 1991, and Šťáva has been engaged in litigation with the Czech Republic over it ever since. According to the same source, a London court upheld the claim in 2025.[1]
Statements by the Prime Minister and ministers
On 13 October 2026, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) told the Czech News Agency that ČEZ Group would contest the order before the Luxembourg court and that the company's representatives were confident of success. According to Babiš, this would not affect ČEZ Group's operations or its customers in the Czech Republic. He said the state had never conceded the validity of Diag Human's claim. He described the case as a story dating back to 1992, when, in his words, ODS politicians signed arbitration clauses and thereby harmed the state.[6][7]
Babiš further said that the government under his leadership had done everything possible in this dispute. Regarding former finance ministers Zbyněk Stanjura (ODS) and Miroslav Kalousek, he said it was hard to say what they had agreed on. Stanjura rejected the doubts, saying the Ministry of Finance had done everything possible under his leadership; he said details could not be disclosed due to the confidential nature of the proceedings.[6][7] According to Echo24, Kalousek denied ever having weakened the Czech Republic's position, stating that the commercial arbitration dispute was handled by the Ministry of Health until 2014, while the Ministry of Finance represents the state in the international arbitration in London.[7]
Finance Minister Alena Schillerová (ANO) said the Ministry of Finance represents the state in the London branch of the case before the Supreme Court of the Czech Republic, while the Luxembourg branch is handled by the Ministry of Health. She described the steps taken in Luxembourg as unlawful and stated that the Czech state would defend itself.[6][7]
According to ČEZ Group, the matter involves two decisions by a Luxembourg court bailiff concerning the company Czech Gas Networks (in which ČEZ Group holds about 55 percent) and its wholly owned subsidiary Czech Gas Networks Investments, which owns the Czech company Czech Grid Holding together with GasNet and GasNet Služby. The state holds about 70 percent of ČEZ Group.[6][7]
Origins of the blood plasma processing dispute
According to the Czech News Agency, the Diag Human case began in 1991, when the Ministry of Health announced a tender for the processing of blood plasma. A preliminary agreement was reached with the companies Novo Nordisk and Conneco, the latter of which later became the company Diag Human. In 1992, then-Minister Martin Bojar informed Novo Nordisk that it had not won the tender, and a letter from the ministry to the company raised doubts about Conneco's reliability.[3]
According to the Czech News Agency, the website HlídacíPes.org reported in January 2026 that Diag Human had initiated legal steps to recover damages and had targeted two companies in which ČEZ Group holds a stake. At the time, ČEZ Group told the Czech News Agency that this had not affected the operation of GasNet.[3]
Statements by Kalousek and Stanjura on the dispute
According to Echo24, Miroslav Kalousek said he had never taken any step that weakened the Czech Republic's position in the dispute, and that he was last finance minister in 2013. He said the commercial arbitration dispute was handled domestically by the Ministry of Health until 2014, and only abroad thereafter; the Ministry of Health represents the state in Luxembourg as well, while the Ministry of Finance represents the state in the international arbitration in London under an international investment protection treaty, which Josef Šťáva initiated in 2017.[7]
Kalousek further stated that the disputes are causally linked but procedurally distinct, leading to two separately enforceable verdicts. He said he had always held the view that a settlement would be far cheaper for taxpayers than prolonging the disputes, and that he had long held this view as part of a minority.[7]
Responding to Babiš's remarks, Zbyněk Stanjura (ODS) said the matter had also been dealt with by ministers before him, including Babiš himself, and that the prime minister should put his own house in order; he said Babiš was, as usual, deflecting attention.[7][6]
Related entries: ČEZ Group
Chronology
- — ČEZ has filed lawsuits in Luxembourg against the blocking of local companies in connection with the Diag Human case and called the measures vexatious. ČT24 Novinky.cz
- — Babiš said that ČEZ Group will challenge the regulation concerning the Diag Human case before the court in Luxembourg. ČTK / České noviny Echo24
- — ČEZ Group announced that two decisions have been issued in Luxembourg in connection with the Diag Human case, restricting the handling of its stake in the companies through which it owns the gas distributor GasNet; ČEZ called them unlawful and intends to challenge them in court. ČTK / České noviny Seznam Zprávy
Sources
- ČT24 — 16 October 2026
- Novinky.cz — 16 October 2026
- ČTK / České noviny — 12 October 2026
- Seznam Zprávy — 12 October 2026
- Novinky.cz — 12 October 2026
- ČTK / České noviny — 13 October 2026
- Echo24 — 13 October 2026