Press: Over one-quarter of subsidies to food industry goes to Babiš’s firm

The Czech state has allocated CZK 400 million in subsidies to companies in the food industry this year, the newspaper Hospodářské noviny reported on Monday. Over a quarter of that funding went to Agrofert, which is owned by former finance minister and recently appointed prime minister Andrej Babiš of ANO. Agrofert, which is the biggest player on the Czech agriculture and foodstuffs markets, is the single company that has gained the most in state subsidies in 2017.

Earlier this year Mr. Babiš placed his shares in Agrofert and the company SynBiol into a trust fund because of the law on conflict of interest. In 2014, the year the ANO chief entered government, 20 percent of the relevant subsidies went to Agrofert.