The Czech Republic’s judiciary acquitted on Monday former Prime Minister Andrej Babis, accused of fraud for alleged mismanagement of funds obtained from the European Union when he was at the head of the Czech government.
The Municipal Court of Prague has thus exonerated the former prime minister and his former advisor Jana Nagiová in connection with subsidies of 50 million euros whose money would have been used in part by the former prime minister for the construction of the Stork’s Nest farm, a recreational complex.
The verdict is not final and the prosecutors can appeal the court decision to the Prague High Court, although both Babis and Nagiová have defended their innocence from the beginning, according to information from the CT24 channel.
«Not guilty! I am very happy that we have an independent judicial system and that the court has confirmed what I have been saying from the beginning. I am innocent and have done nothing illegal,» Babis stressed in a message broadcast via his Twitter account.
For his part, Judge Jan Scott has pointed out that there is no indication that «the actions described in the lawsuit are criminal acts». The prosecution accuses Babis of taking a grant of 50 million euros for one of his companies. At the time, Babis was at the head of the Agrofert business conglomerate, while the EU subsidies were intended for small and medium-sized companies. Agrofert nevertheless proceeded to repay the subsidy.
Babis, who was prime minister between 2017 and 2021, has repeatedly denied his guilt and considers the case an «artificial and deliberate» attempt to criminalize him in order to remove him from politics.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
