Family in protection over Sroubek, says Bridges
An associate was allegedly threatened over a deal gone bad
An entire family were forced into witness protection as a result of criminal behaviour by Czech man Karel Sroubek, National Party leader Simon Bridges has said in Parliament.
Bridges today asked Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern whether she was aware of the case of the family, which he said were forced into New Zealand’s witness protection programme as a result of the actions of Sroubek, for which he faced criminal charges.
Court documents provided to the Herald showed an associate of Sroubek sought to give evidence against him in an upcoming trial by video link because of fears for his safety. The application was denied but the High Court at Auckland was told in July 2010 that the associate was allegedly threatened by Sroubek and two other men with connections to the Hells Angels over a deal gone bad.
The court was told Sroubek, or Jan Antolik as he was known then, went to his associate’s home with the two other men and assaulted him and threatened him with a knife over a debt of $12,000.
They took his watch and his partner’s car but made it clear the money was still owed, the court documents alleged.
“After this incident, [ name withheld] went to the police and he and his family were placed in the witness protection programme. Even so, [name withheld] says that two anonymous threats were made to his im- mediate family after he had made his complaint to police.”
The threats were apparently received by the associate’s eldest child.
Ardern told Parliament that she had said many times that there were a range of reasons the Government had gone back to Immigration NZ for more information.
“When we are in a position to share more about information around the case then we will do so.”
Bridges questioned whether Sroubek was the kind of person Immigration Minister Iain Lees- Galloway should give residency to.
“Residency already existed. The decision put before the minister was around a deportation order. He made that decision based on information put in front of him,” Ardern said.
“Is a criminal, with charges so serious that an entire family went into a witness protection scheme, someone who should have residency in New Zealand?” Bridges asked.
Ardern said she would not discuss specifics of the case but said there were well over 100 such cases National dealt with while in Government.
Meanwhile Radio NZ reported that Sroubek had laid a claim to a $2.3 million Remuera property that was in the name of his in-laws.
Checkpoint said Sroubek, also known as Jan Antolik, had previously lived there and placed a caveat on the property on October 26, claiming a financial interest after the breakdown of his marriage.
Checkpoint also spoke with former Wiri inmate Alex Swney, the disgraced former chief executive of Auckland’s Heart of the City business organisation, who spent about a year in prison with Sroubek.
“If he was a gangster before he came in, he is a diametrically opposed person, a changed person,” Swney told Radio NZ.
“I’m not hugging a thug here. I saw plenty of thugs and plenty of gangsters in prison. Jan is not one of them.”
Swney said Sroubek’s fears for his life were very real if he were to be deported back to the Czech Republic.
“There is no doubt in my mind he was deeply, deeply concerned about his chances . . . No question about that.”
‘We need to get this decision right’ Ardern said earlier today she did not blame officials or Lees-Galloway for the botched handling of the saga.
She said the main issue for her was figuring out why important information about Sroubek was not put in front of the minister in the first place.
Speaking to Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking yesterdaymorning, Ardern was quick to absolve officials who provided Lees-Galloway with information about Sroubek.
“Before anyone jumps down the track of saying I’m blaming officials here, I’m not. There seems to be a range of things at play here, we need to get this decision right.
“He had certain information in front of him. Now we have contradictory information in the public domain. Of course that’s not good enough.”