The office of Czechia’s president is suspected of having shredded another 32 classified documents, which included intelligence information on the activities of Russian armed forces near the border with Ukraine and Nato information on the security situation in Iraq, Czech Radio reported on April 7. The information is based on Prague Castle meeting protocols, which Czech Radio reporters obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.

The revelations that the Castle has been shredding intelligence documents has caused a scandal in the country because of President Milos Zeman's well known sympathies for Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as the close connections between two of his top aides and the Kremlin. It has raised unconfirmed suspicions that the aides – who do not have security clearance – looked at the documents and then destroyed them so that this would not be discovered. 

Earlier this year, it was reported that the Office of the Czech President had destroyed a classified report on the involvement of Russian secret agents in the 2014 explosions in a munitions depot in Vrbetice, Moravia.

As reported by bne IntelliNews, a classified intelligence document related to the Vrbetice case and two other secret documents were destroyed sooner than they were supposed to be, according to an audit investigation carried out by the Czech National Security Authority.

According to the National Security Agency (NSA), the documents were destroyed outside the official shredding process, with two of them being destroyed even before authorities are allowed to do so. One of these documents was destroyed by the office just a month after it was created.

"The purpose of the shredding period is to protect the document for a period of time when it might still be useful, perhaps for the purpose of inspection. The fact that the document was destroyed before the time limit began to run is a clear sign of an illegal procedure," Tomas Bezouska from the Institute for Document Management said.

The procedure was ostensibly personally ordered by the office head Vratislav Mynar, who has no security clearance, at the end of November last year, coincidentally the same day as when the president’s economic advisor with ties to Russia and also with no security clearance, Martin Nejedly, travelled to Russia. Nejedly used to the head of the Czech branch of Russian oil company Lukoil.

According to Czech Radio, it is not clear for what reason documents were shredded in this way. Neither of the Castle´s men (Mynar, presidential spokesman Jiri Ovcacek, or the director of the administrative section Jan Novak) responded when asked for an explanation. According to Euractiv, the Castle claimed the shredding occurred “by mistake”.

The ailing president – who has come out surprisingly strongly against the Russian invasion of Ukraine – will finish his second and final term in March next year. Czech media have speculated that his closest aides are frightened of what will come out once he leaves office and are already trying to destroy any evidence. Both Mynar and Nejedly have been embroiled in numerous scandals, in which they deny any wrongdoing.

Last week Zeman pardoned Milos Balak, the head of the forestry administration at the president´s Lany summer retreat,  who had recently been found guilty of  manipulating public procurement worth CZK200mn (€8mn) and had been sentenced to three years in prison.