Court of Appeal punishes Benešová again with probation for restitution of Bečvář estate

The Court of Appeals today re-sentenced Eva Benešová, the former director of the Prague Land Office, to a three-year suspended sentence in the case of the restitution of the so-called Bečvář estate worth billions. The woman was found guilty of the crime of abuse of official authority earlier, but the suspended sentence was overturned by the Supreme Court. It disagreed with the extraordinary reduction of the sentence below the five-year lower limit. However, according to today's decision of the Court of Appeal, circumstances have changed. The woman is in poor health and is caring for her sick mother.

Benešová, along with two other officials, Jan Horák and Petr Chmelík, was accused of illegally assigning replacement land to Emilia Bednářová and other restitution holders for properties originally belonging to Jan Maria Bečvář. The trio caused damage of at least CZK 1.4 billion. Benešová has denied guilt from the start.