Status: 09.01.2023 11:30 a.m
Former Czech Prime Minister Babis has been acquitted of being involved in subsidy fraud with EU funds. The 68-year-old is considered the favorite in the upcoming presidential election.
A few days before the presidential elections in the Czech Republic, one of the most promising candidates in a lawsuit about EU subsidies was acquitted: a court in Prague ruled that ex-Prime Minister Andrej Babis was not guilty of aiding and abetting fraud. The public prosecutor’s office had demanded three years’ probation and a fine of ten million crowns (410,000 euros) for the billionaire. You can appeal the verdict.
Babis called the process politically motivated
The former head of government had declared himself innocent and described the allegations as politically motivated. Babis was not present when the verdict was pronounced in the courtroom in Prague. His former colleague Jana Nagyova, who signed the subsidy application at the time, was also acquitted.
The big businessman Babis was accused of stealing the equivalent of around two million euros intended for small and medium-sized companies. In addition, he signed the project for the “Stork’s Nest” wellness resort to his children and other close relatives. The subsidies were later withdrawn from EU funding and paid back.
Babis is considered the favorite in the presidential election
For Babis, the verdict a few days before the first round of the Czech presidential elections should be good news: he is the favorite in Friday’s election. According to a survey carried out before the verdict on behalf of the TV channel CNN Prima News, the 68-year-old would get 27.9 percent of the votes in the presidential election. However, he is likely to miss the absolute majority, so that a runoff election will be necessary. Ex-General Petr Pavel followed in second and third place with 26.7 percent and economics professor Danuse Nerudova with 24.4 percent.
Around 8.3 million Czechs are called on Friday and Saturday to elect a successor to President Milos Zeman.