Murder accusation: billboard boss Fischer faces trial in Croatia
Anton Fischer remains in Croatian custody after prosecutors charged him with the murder of business partner Alex Burkov. Croatian authorities are now requesting that the case be transferred to Czech justice.
Fischer charged with murder at sea; Croatia seeks to transfer case to Czech Republic
The State Prosecutor's Office of Zadar County has filed charges against Anton Fischer with the county court in Zadar. As first reported by the portal budejcka.drbna.cz, Fischer faces charges of murder with aggravating circumstances in connection with the disappearance of Czech businessman Alex Burkov.
According to Croatian authorities, Fischer set sail with Burkov on 22 June from the island of Vir towards the island of Molat. "The defendant is accused of taking the life of a Czech citizen, with whom he had a business relationship, out of greed, and subsequently intentionally sinking the vessel to cover his tracks," the state prosecutor's office stated in a press release. The murder is believed to have occurred at an as yet undetermined location on the open sea.
Burkov has been missing since then. Croatian police searched the sea for months — looking for his body as well as the vessel on which both men set out. The boat disappeared shortly after Fischer towed it from the harbour using a jet ski. The family of the missing man maintained from the outset that the vessel had been intentionally sunk or hidden. Fischer himself told police that he had handed it over to an unknown man for repairs at sea. Croatian authorities stated, however, that the vessel has recently been found.
Prosecutors also requested that custody be extended on the grounds that there is a risk of flight and repeated criminal activity. "Given that the defendant is a foreign national, there is concern that he could evade criminal proceedings," the prosecutor's office stated in its motion.
Croatian authorities are now requesting that the case be transferred to Czech justice. The Czech Republic must decide on the request within 15 days.
Fischer is known in the Czech Republic as a prominent figure in the billboard business. According to previously published information from the portal Seznam Zprávy and Czech Radio, he previously operated in Slovakia under the name Anton Cvešper and was associated with the Takáč gang. His name appeared in connection with kidnappings and murders, although he avoided prosecution and was enrolled in a witness protection programme. In the Czech Republic, he faces further charges — including in connection with attacks on activists removing illegal advertising spaces.
Investigators have also recorded Fischer's property transactions. On the island of Vir, he is offering a villa for sale at 37 million Czech crowns and two apartments, each at 9.7 million Czech crowns. His family is simultaneously selling several vehicles, and a company with ties to Fischer has sold a guesthouse in Lišov near České Budějovice. According to Croatian investigators, the motive for the murder was to seize Burkov's land worth 100 million Czech crowns.
Fischer and Burkov had been staying on the island of Vir shortly before the disappearance and set out together from there on 22 June. The Croatian court will now decide on Fischer's guilt or innocence.
Source: iROZHLAS.cz