Today, a Prague court acquitted former Czech Republic premier Andrej Babis of financial fraud charges related to a $2 million European Union subsidies case.
The acquittal improves prospects for Babis in the presidential election this week, as polls show he is one of the favorites.
The prosecution sought a suspended jail sentence and a fine for Babis and a former aide, accusing them of illegally obtaining €2 million (about $2.15 million) in EU small business funds to build a hotel and conference centre in Bohemia by not revealing that it was part of Babis’s Agrofert, a multi-branch holding company, which would be ineligible for such subsidies.
Babis pleaded not guilty, and said the case was politically motivated.
Judge Jan Sott said it has not been proven that the actions of Babis and one of his managers were not a crime.
“This is good news for the entire Czech Republic, all citizens, that we live in a rule of law country and have independent justice and a court that independently ruled that we are acquitted,” he told reporters, referring to himself and one of his managers who was co-accused.
Babis, 68, built the Agrofert Group business empire with interests in farming, chemicals, food processing, and media. He placed his business interests into a trust in 2017 amid accusations of conflicts of interest with his government roles.
His businesses receive millions of euros in EU subsidies every year under the bloc’s agricultural policy in addition to subsidies for investment projects.
Babis was Czech finance minister in 2014-2017 and prime minister in 2017-2021. A centre-right coalition unseated him in 2021 despite his centrist ANO party winning more seats in parliament than any of its rivals.
Babis is in a race with independent rivals Petr Pavel and Danuse Nerudova—both backed by the current centre-right government—for the presidency, opinion polls have shown.
Babis is also the subject of another investigation related to the same conference centre outside Prague, and a French investigation over a financial fraud allegedly involving his purchase of property in France, according to French media.
He has denied wrongdoing in those cases as well.
Reuters contributed to this report.
