iRozhlas: Agrofert profit goes to PM Babiš, trust funds’ statutes show

Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) is the sole recipient of the profit of the Agrofert holding, which he placed in trust funds to comply with a law on conflicts of interest nicknamed “Lex Babiš”. According to iRozhlas, this follows from the funds’ statutes, which are not publicly available.

The documents stipulates several situations in which Agrofert would return to Babiš without undue delay, such as his leaving politics. They also include provisions prohibiting him from exercising influence over Agrofert while in office. He has not commented on the server’s findings.

A draft European Commission audit in December found that Babiš continues to wield effective control over Agrofert, whose companies have long received substantial EU and Czech subsidies. Brussels subsequently demanded the return of some EU subsidies and blocked the issuance of others. The Czech government is threatening legal action to get the money flowing again.

Author: Brian Kenety