Omnipol profited much less from CASA deal than reported, says director

The gross margin that the Omnipol arms company gained for mediating the purchase of CASA transport military planes for the Defence Ministry has reached 85 million crowns now, director Michal Hon said Tuesday, dismissing media reports of hundreds of millions in profits. He also dismissed a report by the firm American Appraisal which said the Czech state lost 658 million crowns in the deal. The police want parliament to release MP Vlasta Parkanova for prosecution over the allegedly disadvantageous contract, which was signed by her deputy when she was defence minister in 2009.