Besal is a company owned by a businessman. In the winter of 2021 it supplied Fakultní nemocnice Královské Vinohrady with one tonne of de-icing salt for pavements and invoiced CZK 13,915 for it [1][2].
Payment sent in error
Through an administrative error the hospital added three zeros to the invoiced amount and in March 2021 sent CZK 13.9 million to Besal's bank account [1][2][3]. According to the judgment, most of this sum was soon withdrawn from the company's account: first half a million crowns went to the account of its owner, followed by successive cash withdrawals. [1]
Court proceedings
In connection with the case the courts imposed on Besal a fine of CZK 1.1 million and the obligation to publish the judgment [3]. In October 2026 the High Court finally reduced to five years in prison the sentence of the company's then managing director for failing to return the money sent to the hospital [1][2][3]. The hospital recovered the rest of the money through enforcement proceedings. [3]
Chronology
- — The High Court finally reduced to five years in prison the sentence of a businessman who kept CZK 14 million that a Prague hospital in Vinohrady had sent him by mistake. → Pražský deník iDNES.cz