(FORTUNE Magazine) – The world seems to be closing in on 37-year-old Viktor Kozeny, the globe-trotting "Pirate of Prague." Angry U.S. investors, who accuse him of scamming them in an overseas oil deal (see "The Incredible Half-Billion-Dollar Azerbaijani Oil Swindle," on fortune.com), convinced judges to freeze most of his dwindling assets. His third wife has left him. Now he faces an indictment on fraud charges in his native Czech Republic. Authorities there allege Kozeny built his once-fabulous fortune during the mid-1990s by siphoning cash that belonged to hundreds of thousands of small investors in his Czech mutual funds.

Kozeny's response? He says he's going into politics! From his Caribbean refuge in Lyford Cay, Kozeny--who hasn't set foot in the Czech Republic since fleeing the country in 1994 and renouncing his Czech citizenship--tells FORTUNE he intends to return to his homeland to field a new political party in the 2002 elections. In fact, he dismisses the fraud investigation, blaming it on the ruling party's determination to "derail" his political ambitions. He calls Prime Minister Milos Zeman "a pink Stalin" and "a drunk."

Why is Kozeny making a sudden career change? "Like any successful businessman," he explains, "you have to make a decision: Are you going to stay in business, or are you going to go into public service?" His promise to voters: to stop "fiscal irresponsibility."

--Peter Elkind