Czech Magnate Living in Ringo Starr’s Mansion Allegedly Built €20 Billion Fortune Looting American Pension Funds, and Using His Own Mother as a Shell Company Owner

Radovan Vítek may be a name unfamiliar to most Americans, but for thousands of U.S. investors, it represents devastating financial losses. According to multiple lawsuits, over a billion dollars from American pension funds vanished in a scheme allegedly orchestrated by the Czech billionaire.

Had this occurred in the United States, Vítek likely would have faced prison for securities fraud. But in Europe, the rules are different.

European regulators did conclude that Vítek looted pension funds and hid his control through shell companies tied to his mother. While he paid fines, he retained control of his sprawling empire. Essentially, geography determined the consequences: in the U.S., his actions would have ended his career and possibly cost him decades behind bars. In Europe, they allowed him to prosper.

Vítek, married with four children, lives in Switzerland but also owns Rydinghurst, a 17th-century estate in Surrey, England. He purchased it in 2015 from former Beatle Ringo Starr for £13.5 million, reportedly so his children could attend school in England.

However, Luxembourg’s financial regulator, the CSSF, claims the property wasn’t purchased with Vítek’s personal earnings. Instead, it was allegedly bought with assets stripped from ORCO Property Group, a publicly traded real estate company based in Luxembourg. ORCO’s investors included Kingstown Capital, a Manhattan firm managing over a billion dollars in U.S. pension funds.

According to the CSSF, starting in 2012, Vítek used shell companies and fabricated board decisions to seize control of ORCO. Once in control, he allegedly acted as a corporate raider—acquiring the company not to operate it long-term, but to sell off its most valuable assets.

The fallout was severe. Kingstown Capital, JPMorgan, and other investors saw their investments plummet—Kingstown alone lost 94% of its capital. ORCO’s founder, Jean-François Ott, allegedly cooperated, receiving a golden parachute exceeding $18 million. Ott reportedly purchased ORCO shares through Vítek-arranged funds while misleading American investors about ownership.

Once ORCO was under control, Ott approved the sale of the Endurance Office Fund, valued at roughly €330 million, to J&T Banka—a front for Vítek—for less than 20% of its worth. Remaining assets were sold to Sidoti, secretly owned by Vítek’s mother, Milada Malá, for €52 million, then flipped to Vítek’s company CPI for €65 million. This move netted Malá €13 million and Vítek $265 million, while ORCO investors suffered catastrophic losses.

In 2017, the CSSF concluded that Vítek, Ott, and Malá’s shell companies acted “in concert” to illegally seize control of ORCO, violating takeover and transparency laws. Yet European authorities imposed only a fine, letting Vítek keep his empire.

In the U.S., prosecutors likely would have filed charges under RICO, securities fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy, and false statements, leading to asset forfeiture and prison. Kingstown sued Vítek in 2019 in the Southern District of New York, alleging RICO violations. CPI dismissed the claims as baseless and intended to generate negative publicity. On September 4, 2020, the court dismissed the case for lack of jurisdiction—not on the merits.

American teachers, firefighters, and nurses—whose pensions were allegedly funneled into Vítek’s real estate empire—remain largely unaware that their retirement savings financed a mother-and-son operation and even a former Beatle’s former English manor.

The story is not over. A group of investors who believe they were defrauded by Vítek is organizing, and further legal action is expected.

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