Petr Kellner, the richest man in the Czech Republic and founder of PPF, was killed in a helicopter crash in Glacier, Alaska, on Saturday (March 27) at the age of 56. He was said to be a key Communist Party fixer in Eastern Europe and had close ties with China’s Huaxin Group boss Ye Jianming. His company, Gitzo Group, is the only wholly foreign-owned financial company in China.
Eastern European tycoon dies in plane crash in Alaska
A sightseeing helicopter crashed in the Knik Glacier area of southern Alaska on the evening of March 27, killing five people on board and seriously injuring one, including Czech billionaire Kellner.
The New York Times reports that according to the chartered hotel, Kellner and others boarded the AS350 B3 helicopter on Saturday and the helicopter did not return that day, and rescuers said they were notified at 10 p.m. and found debris from the crash near the Knik Glacier.
The dead were two Czechs and three Americans. In addition to Kellner, the other four dead were: Czech Benjamin Larochaix; two of the hotel’s guides – Gregory Harms and Sean McMannany; and Zach Russel, the helicopter’s pilot.
The only survivor is in stable condition, according to the Alaska State Troopers, and the National Transportation Safety Board is conducting an investigation to determine the cause of the crash.
Kellner, the owner of one of the largest investment and financial conglomerates in Central and Eastern Europe, PPF, is estimated by Forbes to be worth $17.5 billion, having amassed a fortune in the massive privatization of Czech state assets following the fall of the Communist Party in Czechoslovakia in 1989.
Kellner’s Piper Group spans a wide range of sectors, including insurance, consumer finance, banking, telecommunications, real estate, and biotechnology. At the end of 2018, Piper Group had assets of more than €45 billion and was classified as a “systemically important financial institution” by the Czech National Bank.
In particular, Pafo Group has also entered the telecommunications, media and biotechnology sectors, being the sole shareholder of Czech Telecommunication Infrastructure Company Limited (CETIN) and acquiring O2 Czech Republic, the largest Czech telecommunications operator. In addition it bought Nova Nova, the first private Czech TV station, in 2002 and Central European Media Enterprises (CME) from AT&T for £1.62 billion in 2019.
Kellner acts as a go-between for President Zeman and the Chinese Communist Party
On November 19, 2020, the Hong Kong media outlet Tuan Media revealed that two intermediaries were involved in bringing President Zeman and the Chinese Communist Party together: Kellner and Ye Jianming, the chairman of China’s Huaxin Energy, who was arrested by the Chinese Communist Party in early 2018. After Ye was arrested by the Chinese Communist Party in early 2018, this “broker’s path” from the Chinese side was cut off.
Kellner, who has been targeting the Chinese market, has acted as an intermediary between the Czech president and the Chinese Communist Party for more than a decade. His Home Credit BV has special rights in China and is “the only wholly foreign-owned consumer finance company in China.
Zeman interacted frequently with the Chinese Communist Party through the intermediation of Kellner and his Pafo and Gitzo Group. First, President Zeman visited China in 2014 and 2015, and then Xi Jinping made his first state visit to the Czech Republic in 2016. Zeman then visited China every year from 2017-2019 to call on Xi Jinping. During this period, Zeman promoted the signing of several agreements between the Czech Republic and the Chinese Communist Party, and vigorously promoted the Communist Party’s “One Belt, One Road” into the Czech Republic and Europe.
In 2018, after Ye’s disappearance, PPF and CITIC signed a memorandum of strategic cooperation, reportedly to develop a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary cooperation, as part of the Czech-Chinese “New Silk Road” plan.
Scandals involving helping the Chinese Communist Party spread influence
The Guardian reported on January 5 that Kellner himself was at the center of a Communist Party-inspired scandal over his influence on the Czech Republic, allegedly helping to raise the Communist Party’s profile in the Central European country.
On Dec. 11 of last year, the website of the Czech media outlet Aktualne.cz reported the existence of a so-called “network of experts, journalists and political leaders” whose aim was to promote a so-called “positive image” of the Communist Party to “influence the Czech Republic. “This project is sponsored by the Gitzo Group.
According to the article, Gitzo established a media relations agency called C&B Reputation Management, which is owned by Tomas Jirsa. Since January of last year, Jirsa has run the main Czech website Info.cz, which has since published several articles promoting the Chinese Communist Party that resemble advertisements and are paid for by Gitzo.
“C&B Reputation Management also established Sinoskop, a pro-Beijing think tank, in June of last year, whose director gives regular interviews to the Czech media.
Last November, the Chinese Embassy in the Czech Republic sponsored a course at Charles University in Prague on the “Belt and Road” project, and Gitzo, as a sponsor of Charles University, suggested that the university could not harm Gitzo’s global interests, including upsetting the Chinese (Communist) government. Gitzo eventually withdrew its £50,000 donation to Charles University after the news was criticised by the university and public opinion.
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