Former Czech PM returns to court to fight fraud charges ahead of presidential election

Czech billionaire and former Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis returned to court to fight fraud charges over a 2 million euro subsidy on Wednesday, days before the presidential election in which he is the favorite, Reuters reported.

Babis has been a dominant figure in Czech politics for the past decade, first as a powerful finance minister and then as prime minister, after which opposition parties united to oust him in the 2021 elections, even though his ANO party won a majority of seats in parliament.

Now that his party is in opposition, Babiš, 68, is seeking the presidency to replace his former ally Milos Zeman, whose second term ends in March.

But Babis, now owner of the chemical, agricultural, food and media conglomerate Agrofert, has long faced allegations of conflict of interest over his huge business empire.

Babis’s trial involves allegations that he illegally used an EU subsidy, before he created his ANO party in 2011, to build the Stork’s Nest conference center near Prague by hiding his involvement in the project.

Babis denies his guilt and has repeatedly denied the accusations for political purposes. He did not speak to reporters before entering court Wednesday.

Even if the court finds Babis guilty and possibly sentences him to prison, he could appeal, which would likely be considered before the vote. But the trial itself could alienate some undecided voters in the presidential election, observers say.

Babis, the fifth richest man in the country according to the Forbes 2021 list, is one of the favorites in the election, the first round of which begins Jan. 13-14.

Polls show that Babiš, former Czech army general Petr Pavel and former university rector Danuse Nerudova have an equal chance of advancing to the second round, where the top two candidates will face off Jan. 27-28.

Polls show that Babis will lose in the second round.

However, Babis’ ANO party continues to lead in party polls even after its leader has faced allegations of conflicts of interest.

The European Commission found him in a conflict of interest because Agrofert, which employs more than 30,000 people, benefited from development subsidies while he was in government.

French prosecutors also investigated his purchase of real estate in France through offshore firms, according to Le Monde newspaper. He denies all wrongdoing.