The Czech government is demanding that the business owned by former Prime Minister and election favorite Andrej Babiš return more than €200 million in farm subsidy payments, raising the stakes ahead of a national vote in October.
Giving an overall figure for the first time, Agriculture Minister Marek Výborný said that the Agrofert conglomerate should repay 5.1 billion koruny (€208 million) — of which 4.24 billion koruny were EU direct payments, with the remaining 860 million koruny made up of national subsidies.
The decision follows a series of court defeats suffered by Agrofert in recent months, relating to subsidies the conglomerate received back when Babiš was prime minister from 2017 to 2021. Despite putting Agrofert into two trusts, the courts found that he continued to control the business, meaning that the company was not eligible for the subsidies.“Based on the facts known to me and the Supreme Administrative Court’s decision, which was confirmed by the Constitutional Court at the end of April, we are moving forward with proceedings to reclaim payments made during that period to companies ultimately owned by Andrej Babiš,” said Výborný.
Babiš accused the center-right government, which polls show faces defeat in the Oct. 3-4 polls, of pursuing a political vendetta.
“Minister Výborný has been abusing his position and officials for political battles and only wants to gain visibility before the elections. The whole coalition is obsessed with Babiš and Agrofert,” said Babiš.Babiš’s populist ANO party has long been the election front-runner, with support reaching 33 percent this week, despite a dog-slaying hitman scandal that rocked his party. The tycoon campaigns on messaging often associated with the far right and has vowed to scrap ammunition deliveries to Ukraine — but has not unveiled the official election program yet.His main opponent, the Spolu coalition, which includes three out of four governing parties, lags on 20 percent. The bloc’s ratings have suffered from unpopular decisions such as a pensions reform, poor communication and internal friction — along with factors like high inflation and energy costs.In a separate but related ruling, Prague’s High Court has overturned an earlier decision clearing Babiš of wrongdoing in a €2 million EU subsidy fraud. That case is now with the same Prague District Court that in February 2024 acquitted Babiš and his former adviser and current Patriots for Europe Member of the European Parliament Jana Nagyová of fiddling ownership documents so the former leader’s agriculture holding qualified for the subsidies. The High Court said the lower court had not evaluated the evidence properly — and obliged it to follow its legal opinion.That essentially means that the lower court cannot acquit Babiš again unless new evidence is found. If he takes power after the elections, the court will need to ask the newly elected deputies to waive his immunity.Both Babiš and Nagyová have pleaded not guilty on numerous occasions, claiming the case is politically motivated.
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