Former MP Wolf sentenced to one year in prison for fleeing to Paraguay, admits guilt
An Ostrava court handed Petr Wolf a one-year sentence for obstructing the execution of a sentence. The former MP was detained in Paraguay in September 2025 after more than twelve years.
One year added to six: Wolf admits flight and remorse in court
Former Czech Social Democratic Party (ČSSD) MP Petr Wolf received an additional one year in prison on Monday at the District Court in Ostrava, according to Seznam Zprávy. The reason was obstructing the execution of an official decision — Wolf repeatedly avoided serving a six-year sentence for subsidy fraud and fled to Paraguay. The law threatened him with up to two additional years.
Wolf admitted guilt on Monday and the ruling is final. Both parties — Wolf and the state prosecutor — waived their right to appeal directly in the courtroom.
"I regret what happened. At the time I decided to leave, I feared for my life. That is what matters," said the sixty-six-year-old Wolf. He declined to provide further details on the matter.
Judge acknowledged remorse, but with reservations
Judge Tomáš Žatek accepted remorse as a mitigating circumstance, but with a caveat. "With a small question mark. I leave it to the accused's conscience whether his remorse was genuine," he said. At the same time, he mentioned that the defence rested on fear for himself and his family, and pointed out that Wolf, during his absence, described the previous proceedings as politically motivated.
The state prosecutor emphasised that Wolf ignored three summons to serve his sentence, despite being aware of the final non-conditional ruling. He cited the admission of guilt as a mitigating circumstance, but cited the length of time he evaded the sentence as an aggravating one.
Wolf's legal representative Tomáš Miketa called on the court to consider the conditions in the Paraguayan prison. "I believe this was already a punishment," the lawyer said. He indicated his intention to seek conditional release for his client. "The client has completed a third of his six-year sentence. In view of the one-year sentence imposed today, we will be able to apply for conditional release in January," Miketa explained to the Czech News Agency.
Original case: subsidy fraud of 11 million crowns
The Regional Court in Ostrava sentenced Wolf to five years in prison and a fine of one million crowns for subsidy fraud in 2012. The High Court in Olomouc subsequently increased the sentence to six years and the fine to five million crowns. The court found that Wolf defrauded the Ministry of the Environment, from which he obtained subsidies based on inaccurate and false information. Together with his wife, he received approximately 11 million crowns in 2005 to 2007 for two projects.
Wolf's wife received a conditional three-year sentence and a fine of one million crowns. The married couple gradually paid the monetary penalties.
Wolf denied guilt in the original case, described the court's decision as incorrect and unjust, and characterised the trial as fabricated and politicised. For this reason, he sought political refugee status in Paraguay.
Detained after twelve years of search
Police issued a search warrant for Wolf in January 2013. In September 2025, Paraguayan authorities detained him based on international police cooperation, and in October of that year he was extradited back to the Czech Republic.
Source: iROZHLAS.cz