Czech voters go to the polls on 3-4 October. That’s good news for democracy. Less good: Andrej Babiš could once again become Prime Minister. His party ANO is currently leading the polls. The problem: Babiš is not just a politician. He is also a businessman. This led to countless conflicts of interest from 2017 to 2021. Back then, the 71-year-old billionaire was already Prime Minister.

Babiš, who before 1989 is reported to have worked with the Czechoslovak secret police, founded his company Agrofert in the 1990s. Where the money for those early investments came from is still unclear. But Agrofert grew into a giant conglomerate – and became the reason Babiš was drawn into scandal after scandal throughout his political career. Here are just a few:

1. The Stork’s Nest
To obtain EU subsidies for a wellness resort (“Stork’s Nest”) near Prague, he temporarily spun the company out of Agrofert in 2008. On paper, this made the project eligible for EU funding earmarked for smaller businesses. Two million euros flowed. According to the Czech public prosecutor, this was subsidy fraud. The case is still before the courts today.

2. The toast affair
In 2018, a bakery company in Babiš’ conglomerate applied for EU subsidies by claiming an innovation: The company Penam had supposedly developed a new, groundbreaking way of producing toast bread. The responsible Czech ministry approved the application, paid out €3.9 million up front – and was then left holding the bill. Brussels refused to reimburse the money. Commission auditors concluded the “innovation” was nothing new at all, but had already been used in another Agrofert bakery. The best thing since sliced bread? More like fraud à la Babiš.

3. The château and the shell companies
The Pandora Papers – a massive leak about offshore shell companies – brought Andrej Babiš back into the headlines. Documents revealed that in 2009 he had purchased Château Bigaud, a villa in the South of France. The purchase price of €15 million was routed through shell companies in Washington, Monaco, and the British Virgin Islands before reaching France. Babiš used this offshore structure to conceal the transaction and failed to declare the property when he took office. Experts noted such shell company structures could also be used for money laundering.

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As a politician, Babiš regularly rails against corruption and calls for more transparency. As one of the richest men in the Czech Republic, he lives the opposite. During his previous term in office, corruption allegations and conflicts of interest were constant. Handing over his company shares to a trust fund changed little. In practice, Babiš retained control of his empire. That is why the Greens/EFA group already called on the European Commission in 2018 to investigate his conflict of interest.

In 2021 the Commission’s investigation confirmed the conflicts of interest. Babiš had broken the rules. All EU subsidies granted to Agrofert since 2017 were deemed unlawful and had to be repaid. At my initiative, the European Parliament demanded that Babiš choose one of three options: stop accepting EU money, sell his companies, or step down as Prime Minister. Babiš and the European Council chose to ignore all of these demands – and tolerated the breach of EU rules.

So what happens if Babiš wins the election again? As Prime Minister and member of the European Council, he would be directly involved in negotiating the EU’s next seven-year budget, which comes into force in 2028. That means Babiš would once again sit at the table deciding on the distribution of billions in EU funds – funds from which his own companies could profit.

Daniel Freund, Green coordinator on the Budgetary Control Committee:

“If Andrej Babiš returns to power, conflicts of interest are inevitable. The Council and the Commission must spell out how they will deal with this. It is unacceptable for him to sit at the table when EU budgets and subsidy programmes are being negotiated – programmes that could benefit his own companies. EU payments to Agrofert must be suspended until all conflicts of interest are resolved and transparency is guaranteed. We must not allow prime ministers like Babiš to line their own pockets with the taxpayers’ money of EU citizens.”