Czech court clears former PM Andrej Babis of fraud

 A Prague court docket has acquitted former Prime Minister Andrej Babis of fraud fees in a €1.8m case involving European Union subsidies.

A prosecutor had requested a three-year suspended sentence and a fantastic of 10 million Czech koruna (€416,000) for the populist billionaire. The prosecution can nonetheless attraction.

Babis pleaded not responsible and repeatedly stated the costs towards him had been politically motivated.

He wasn’t current at Prague’s Municipal Courtroom on Monday. His former affiliate, Jana Nagyova, who signed the subsidy request, was additionally acquitted.

“INNOCENT!” Babis tweeted after the decision. “I’m actually glad that now we have an impartial judiciary and the court docket confirmed what I stored saying from the start. That I’m harmless and haven’t accomplished something unlawful.”

The ruling is a lift for Babis simply days earlier than the primary spherical of the Czech presidential election.

Babis is taken into account a front-runner in Friday’s election, together with retired military Common Petr Pavel, former chairman of NATO’s navy committee, and former college rector Danuse Nerudova.

The case concerned a farm, often known as the Stork’s Nest, which acquired EU subsidies after its possession was transferred from the Babis-owned Agrofert conglomerate of round 250 firms to Babis’ members of the family. Later, Agrofert once more took possession of the farm.