The case of a man who was lured abroad by Czech con artists with the promise of an investment opportunity and then murdered has police investigators calling for others approached by similar schemes to come forward.
According to police, a man who called himself Robert Kelner met Czech businessman Petr Vlach, 72, at Nice airport March 6. The two had allegedly been communicating under the pretext of the purchase of two luxury villas in Prague. Kelner drove Vlach to a rented villa on the coast in the town of Villefranche-sur-Mer, about 20 minutes east of Nice. There, three hooded men aged 37-45 threatened to kill Vlach’s family unless he allowed them access to his foreign bank accounts. Though he surrendered his bankcards, from which several thousand euros were withdrawn, Vlach was not set free.
“The Czech police asked us to conduct an investigation here, and we collected many elements relevant to the case, including confirmation of Mister Vlach’s arrival at the airport, details about the kidnapping, where he spent the night and the date of his departure from Villefranche-sur-Mer,” said Colonel Pierre Batty of the Nice judicial police’s criminal brigade.
On March 26, Czech detectives from the police’s organized crime unit (ÚOOZ) arrested three men, including Kelner, for their involvement in the disappearance of Vlach. They arrested three more on the following day in Zlín and Plze?. Five of the men have been charged with murder, imprisonment and extortion, and all of them have a criminal record. Some of them confessed to the crime and told the police the general whereabouts of Vlach, who they say was killed the day after arriving in France. On April 2, around noon, ÚOOZ and Italian detectives were able to locate the victim’s body in northern Italy. Police confirm more members of the gang may be active in the Czech Republic.
According to the police investigation, a member of the group had contacted Vlach late last year, and he may not have been the only one. Another Czech businessman arrived in Nice March 8 but was not harmed. Detectives speculate that it was because he was not traveling alone. They believe Kelner’s gang was targeting wealthy persons who offered sales of real estate or expensive goods, luring them abroad under the pretext of negotiating possible transactions. Kelner claimed to represent a company in Dubai.
Further investigation revealed Kelner had been operating in the Czech Republic under the investment firm Vestar Gulf Invest, part of a group called Dubai Holding, which a private detective agency in the United Kingdom audited. Investigators found Dubai Holding knew nothing of Vestar Gulf Invest or investment specialist Robert Kelner. There is no Vestar Gulf Invest office at its given Dubai address. When The Prague Post called the phone number listed for Vestar Gulf Invest and asking for Robert Kelner, the receptionist answered in good English that he is traveling and asked to take a message.
For the past year, Dubai Holding investment branch Dubai International Capital (DIC) has posted a fraud warning on its website, alerting the business community to fraudulent websites and e-mails and misuse of its brand for other fraudulent activities.
“Dubai International Capital (‘DIC’), the private equity arm of Dubai Holding, would like to alert the business community to the fact that the contents of its website www.dubaiic.com and bogus e-mail addresses incorporating the names of employees have and continue to be used by unauthorized people to undertake fraudulent activity,” reads a statement posted in October. “These fraudsters seek to lure potential victims primarily via e-mail solicitations into disclosing confidential information and then conning these victims into making ‘processing’ payments or paying bogus fees, resulting in financial loss.”
DIC also writes that it “requests its stakeholders and the wider business community to be vigilant and inform the Company if they are subject to such scams.” As of press time, DIC had not responded to The Prague Post’s request for comment.
Chief of ÚOOZ Robert Šlachta confirmed that Czech detectives are now looking into the disappearance of Czech businessman Jan Mo?ovský, who was last seen in Nice in 2008.
During a recent press briefing, ÚOOZ called it “unfortunate” that French police had divulged information about the case to French newspaper Nice-Matin at the end of March while failing to inform ÚOOZ. This led police to end any further collaboration with their French counterparts.
“Early media coverage contributed only to speculation, which subsequently appeared in the Czech media,” read the press release. “During the ongoing acts of criminal proceedings for the clarification of the case and verification of specific findings, in our opinion, no one or thing can benefit from hasty media coverage except perhaps the suspects themselves.”
Batty expressed surprise at the news, saying that the investigation had been proceeding very well. “I find it regrettable the Czech police decided not to have us cooperate with them any further,” he said.
ÚOOZ spokesman Pavel Hanták told The Prague Post that disclosing any further information was not possible due to pending criminal proceedings. Those who may have any further information are urged to call 974 842 690.
– André Crous contributed to this report.
Kasia Pilat can be reached at
kpilat@praguepost.com