Police investigate finances of billboard activist Jahn: dozens of accounts, nearly 200 million crowns
Czech police are examining the finances of activist Zdeněk Jahn, who campaigns against illegal billboards. His accounts handled a turnover of nearly 200 million crowns.
Police investigate millions in accounts of founder of Join In Tear It Down initiative
Czech police are currently examining the finances of Zdeněk Jahn, a publicly known activist against illegal billboards, according to odkryto.cz. Investigators are focusing on the source of funds in his bank accounts.
Jahn, who in recent years worked as an official at the Ministry of Transport, has according to information from the odkryto.cz editorial team several dozen bank accounts. The turnover on them reached nearly 200 million crowns in recent years.
"None of what you're writing about the number of accounts and turnover is true," Jahn wrote in response to the editorial inquiry. After subsequent telephone conversations, however, he admitted that he was depositing higher amounts in cash into his accounts.
As an explanation, he stated that over the past three years he had deposited 549,000 crowns in cash. He described part of the money as funds belonging to his father, who received an old-age pension in cash and who, because of his age and illness, does not use internet banking or a payment card. "So that cash wouldn't accumulate in his home, I deposited it into my account and then transferred the funds from my account to his," Jahn explained.
He attributed the second part of the deposits to his partner. "We live together in a rental property, from my account we pay the rent, electricity, gas and joint purchases. He then pays me half the costs, sometimes directly to the account, sometimes in cash. If it's a larger amount in cash, I deposit it into the account," he added. He estimated the total balance in his accounts, including investments, at approximately 7.5 million crowns. He did not provide the exact number of accounts.
Jahn is the founder of the Join In Tear It Down initiative, which alerts authorities to illegal billboards in towns and along roads. Besides the Ministry of Transport, he also worked at the Prague Technical Road Administration (TSK), where between 2020 and 2023 he held the position of asset management specialist.
According to the editorial information, Slovak authorities initially became interested in Jahn, whereupon Czech police focused on his activities at TSK. Investigators also asked whether Jahn was in charge of public contracts. TSK spokeswoman Barbora Lišková, when asked what specifically police were investigating, said: "Even if that were the case, we do not disclose this information."
Source: Google News CZ — Crime (cs)