Czech helicopter fundraiser organizers file criminal complaints over fraud allegations

Organizers of the 'Dárek pro Putina' (Gift for Putin) fundraiser and the company Helicopter Alliance are pursuing legal action following allegations of fraud made by an anonymous social media profile named 'Thomas Paukner'.

The anonymous author claimed that a UH-60A Black Hawk helicopter, intended for Ukraine through a 70 million CZK collection, was instead being used for commercial purposes within the Slovak Training Academy.

Representatives for the initiative and Helicopter Alliance have refuted these claims, stating that the accusations are based on a factual error. They clarified that the original helicopter planned for the collection was replaced with a different, less expensive American model, a change that was publicly communicated to donors in 2024. This adjustment allowed the fundraising goal to be lowered from 105 million to approximately 70 million CZK.

Helicopter Alliance has filed a criminal complaint, asserting that the false narrative has caused significant suspicion among tens of thousands of donors. The fundraiser's organizers are also preparing a criminal complaint for defamation against the unknown perpetrator, with plans to pursue a lawsuit if the individual behind the profile is identified.