A large-scale scandal has erupted in the Czech Republic surrounding the Reactive Drone company, which resold Chinese drones to Ukraine at a twenty-fold markup. This is reported by the iRozhlas publication, citing an investigation by Radiožurnal.
According to journalists, over the course of two years, the company purchased drones for approximately 36 million crowns, but sold them to the Ukrainian army for 692 million crowns — about $28 million. The reason for such an exorbitant markup is not explained in the documents, and the investigators themselves call it “incomprehensible.”
Despite its huge profits, Reactive Drone paid virtually no taxes in the Czech Republic. The company transferred most of the funds it received — 638 million crowns — to Chinese bank accounts. According to police estimates, the state was underpaid by at least 130 million crowns, and this amount could increase.
Law enforcement officers have already frozen about 384 million kronor in Reactive Drone's accounts. The police said that, given the scale of the seized funds, the budget losses will be compensated in full.
At the same time, journalists found out that the company's official headquarters is located in an ordinary apartment building in Prague. None of the neighbors know either the representatives of Reactive Drone or the name of the company itself.
The company director is already in custody, his accomplice — an accountant — is being investigated as a suspect, but remains at large. The investigation is ongoing, and the motives for setting an unprecedented markup on equipment for the Ukrainian army remain open.
