Czech police charge vice-PM in bribe case-agencies

...local media reported.

The Web site of the country's largest daily newspaper, Mlada Fronta Dnes, quoted a source as saying the charges were filed earlier in the day and that Cunek, who is also the current minister for regional development, was told of the move.

Cunek, who had his parliamentary immunity lifted earlier this week at his own request, denies any wrongdoing and has said he has documents showing the money had a legitimate origin.

"Legal representatives of Mr Cunek will file a complaint (against the police) over their handling of the case," CTK news agency quoted Cunek's lawyer Eduard Bruna as saying.

Czech police were not immediately available to confirm the reports.

The case is a blow to the Christian Democrats, a junior coalition partner in the country's shaky centre-right cabinet, who picked Cunek as their new leader last year in the hope he would lead the party out of a long-term decline.

But it will not have an immediate impact on the ruling coalition, which has just 100 seats on the 200-seat lower house of parliament. Cunek is not a member of the lower house. He holds a seat in the Senate, or upper house, in which the government has a comfortable majority.

For several weeks police have been investigating a 500,000 crown ($23,060) bribe Cunek is accused of receiving from a real estate company in the town of Vsetin in 2002.

Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek has so far refrained from criticising Cunek and has not indicated any intention to force him out of the cabinet.

[PRAGUE/Reuters/Finance.cz]