- Former Prime Minister Andrej Babiš has been acquitted for the second time by a Prague court in a $2 million fraud case related to European Union subsidies.
- Babis has maintained his innocence and said the charges are politically motivated.
- Prosecutors are seeking a three-year suspended sentence and a fine for Babis, with the possibility of appealing the sentence.
A Prague court on Wednesday acquitted former Prime Minister Andrej Babiš of fraud charges for the second time in a $2 million case over European Union aid.
Babis has maintained his innocence and has repeatedly said the charges against him are politically motivated.
Prosecutors can still appeal the verdict. The group had asked the populist billionaire to serve a three-year suspended sentence and pay a fine.
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The Prague City Court acquitted Babiš and Nagyova in January last year. In September, the Prague High Court reversed the lower court’s decision and ordered the case to be retried in the same court.
Presidential candidate and former Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Andrej Babiš speaks to media members in Prague, Czech Republic, on January 28, 2023. A Prague court acquitted Babiš of a second fraud charge in a $2 million case involving European countries. Union subsidies. (AP Photo/Marko Drobniaković, File)
The case centered on a farm known as Stork’s Nest, which was owned by Babis’s family after its ownership was transferred from Agrofert, a conglomerate of around 250 companies owned by Babis. received a subsidy. Agrofelt then took ownership of the farm again.
This subsidy is aimed at small and medium-sized enterprises, and Agrofert was not eligible. The conglomerate later returned the subsidy.
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Babis’ former colleague Yana Nagyova, who signed the grant application, was also acquitted.
Judge Jean Sotto said their actions could not be considered a crime.
Babi joined the opposition party following the defeat of his populist ANO centrist movement in the 2021 parliamentary elections. He also ran for the presidential post last January, but lost to retired army general Petr Pavel.
ANO currently tops opinion polls as the country’s most popular political group.
