You're reading: Former Czech defense minister charged with bribery

PRAGUE — A Czech prosecutor says the country's former defense minister will stand trial after former U.S. ambassador accused him of asking for a bribe in a high-profile corruption case.

State prosecutor Dusan Taborsky says Martin Bartak was formally charged Thursday and faces up to 12 years in prison if convicted by the regional court in the eastern city of Ostrava.

No date has been set for the trial.

The prosecution opened the case in 2010 after the former U.S. ambassador, William Cabaniss, accused Bartak of asking for $5 million in 2008 to solve a problem with a supplier that threatened a $150 million deal for Czech truck maker Tatra AS. Cabaniss, who was ambassador from 2003 to 2006, was chairman of Tatra’s supervisory board.

Bartak has denied any wrongdoing.