Viktor Ko?ený

Viktor Ko?ený (born June 20, 1963 in Prague) is a Czech-born fugitive financier, an Irish citizen residing in the Bahamas. Efforts to bring him to justice step up from both the Czech Republic and the U.S.A. An international arrest warrant has been issued for Ko?ený, who in the early '90s ran one of the great scams of the post-Communist era. By the media he is often called "the pirate of Prague".

Related Topics:
June 20 - 1963 - Prague - Czech - Bahamas - Czech Republic - U.S.A. - Communist

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Durind the so-called coupon privatisation Czech state assets were supposed to be handed over to Czech citizens through a system of coupon vouchers, which could then be used to buy shares in companies. However mutual funds were founded, most successfully the one started by Ko?eny, Harvard Capital and Consulting.

Related Topics:
Coupon privatisation - Shares - Mutual funds

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Coupon privatization wasn't successful when it first started. It was considered too complex, too difficult and too much of a pain for the average citizen.

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Then came Harvard, whose sponsorship of Czech TV's reruns of "Dallas" gave Czechs a glimpse of what wealth could they be like. Soon thousands of Czechs were signing over their coupon books to Harvard, who promised a 1000% rate of return on investment. Harvard Funds bought shares in a number of companies, stripped assets and transferred the money abroad to offshore tax havens like the Bahamas. Ko?eny promised he would return Czech investors' money, just as soon as he completed his next asset strip - of the state-run oil company in Azerbaijan. Some 240,000 former clients of Harvard are reportedly still waiting for $403 million he promised them. He is expected to be tried in absentia as a fugitive and faces up to eight years in prison in the Czech Republic.

Related Topics:
"Dallas" - Tax havens - Azerbaijan

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He managed to convince American investors to invest $182 million in the Azerbaijan deal, which went south in a big way. He allegedly defrauded clients of New York Hedge Fund company Omega Advisors Inc. He could face 25 years in prison in the U.S.

Related Topics:
New York - Hedge Fund - Omega Advisors

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In addition to his Czech arrest warrant, Ko?eny faces a serious legal action by famed Manhattan district attorney Robert Morgenthau, who has filed an indictment in New York.

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Ko?eny has lived in the Bahamas with his mother and wife since 1993. He tried a career in politics in the Czech Republic with a new party for 2004 election - Viktor Ko?ený - Ob?anská federální demokracie. It was a failure, though.

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"Lyford Cay resident Viktor Kozeny, who faces 17 counts of fraud-related charges in the U.S., will either have to surrender to U.S. authorities or face extradition, according to a New York City district attorney." (Bahamas News, June 09, 2005)

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