Czech Official Arrests Revolve Around Illegal Spying

Also, bribery

Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas is in a scrap to keep his job after prosecutors said one of his closest aides illegally ordered intelligence officers to spy on three people and was involved in a bribery case where ex-lawmakers were offered jobs at state-owned companies.

Jana Nagyova, who runs Necas's office and has worked with him since at least 2006, the head of military intelligence and five other people were charged, prosecutor Ivo Istvan said in Prague today. Officers seized as much as 150 million koruna ($7.8 million) in cash and some gold after raiding 31 homes.

Necas, 48, who refused to quit, is entering his fourth year in power after quelling a rebellion over austerity in his Civic Democratic Party to become the longest-serving Czech premier in a decade. The scandal threatens to reignite the dissent with pressure piling on from an opposition emboldened by an opinion-poll lead a year before elections.