Final Word from Wednesday, September 26, 2012

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Hallelujah! The two suspected culprits in the methanol affair have been taken into custody, and the situation will now slowly return to normal. The top of the methanol pyramid has been reached and lopped off, according to the police. There is still one nagging little question, though. Where did the two masters of methanol get the ethanol that they used to mix their poisonous potion? A Zlín investigator confirmed in an interview with Právo that the culprits used some ethanol, but he didn't say whether it was obtained legally or illegally. If it was legal (and fully taxed), it means the profit potential of the two culprits is being grossly overstated. If, on the other hand, the ethanol was obtained illegally on the black market, it means they stood to profit handsomely, even if they had to pay a stiff premium to the production price. It would also mean that there's an ethanol pyramid that no one wants to talk about.[Czech Republic methyl ethyl alcohol excise tax VAT prohibition]