New documents cast doubt on Babiš's separation from Agrofert

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš faces new allegations that he never completely severed ties with his agricultural and chemical empire Agrofert, even though he publicly declared the opposite. The aim was to avoid conflicts of interest at both the national and EU levels.

Before his appointment as prime minister, President Petr Pavel directly demanded this. Before taking office in December, Babiš declared that he would irrevocably relinquish Agrofert, would not own it, would have no economic relations or contact with it, and that his children would only acquire the company after his death.

However, according to a leaked 18-page legal document dated December 17, reported by the Seznam Zprávy portal and also written about by Politico, the new trust structure excludes Babiš from day-to-day management only while he is in public office. After his departure from politics or death, decision-making powers would be transferred to a family management mechanism.

Opposition MPs claim that the document indicates the prime minister's continuing personal and family interests in Agrofert, which could influence his political decisions.

The European Commission responded that it is monitoring the situation and recalled the rules on preventing conflicts of interest in the management of the EU budget. Babiš did not deny the authenticity of the document to Deník N, but he denies that he has broken the law.

MEPs Ondřej Knotek and Klára Dostálová from his ANO movement unanimously agreed with Politico that the Czech prime minister had taken steps beyond the scope of Czech and European regulations.

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