The European Public Prosecutor’s Office has tasked Czech police with investigating the payment of EU subsidies to companies within Agrofert, an agro-chemical giant tied to Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš.
In a letter dated June 19, European Delegated Prosecutor Daniela Bártíková said she “decided to initiate criminal proceedings … concerning funds provided from the EU budgets.” The letter, seen by POLITICO, was first reported by Seznam Zprávy.
The referral to police relates to subsidies paid before Babiš’s current term, including during his first stint as prime minister, despite findings by Czech courts and the European Commission that he retained control over the company in violation of EU conflict-of-interest rules. EPPO’s probe follows a February criminal complaint from an opposition party over “the failure to recover unlawfully paid subsidies granted to the Agrofert group.”
EPPO entrusted the investigation to the National Center Against Organized Crime, a specialized police unit that handles high-level cases involving money laundering, corruption, or large-scale tax fraud.
EPPO’s referral relates solely to EU funds, not national subsidies.
Babiš placed Agrofert in a trust fund to avoid the conflict of interest and to fulfill President Petr Pavel’s condition for his formal return as prime minister. It came under renewed scrutiny after a leaked legal document suggested that he did not fully cut his ties.
The Commission is still evaluating whether Prague has taken adequate steps to sever Babiš’s links to a major recipient of EU funds. In the meantime, however, Czechia has unilaterally decided to continue paying Common agricultural subsidies to Agrofert.
In another letter seen by POLITICO, DG AGRI Director-General Elisabeth Werner wrote that the Commission “did not state that Agrofert was entitled to receive agricultural subsidies, nor [had] it instructed the Czech authorities to allocate or disburse such subsidies.”
Agrofert spokesman Pavel Heřmanský said the conglomerate itself is not a target of the probe. The EPPO proceedings “were not initiated against any of the companies within the AGROFERT group, nor are we a party to those proceedings.” He also stressed that companies within the conglomerate have and are receiving subsidies in compliance with the law.
“We respect the actions taken by European authorities in connection with our group, as we understand that they must address submissions they receive from the Czech Republic, even though these submissions are not based on facts and are motivated purely by the political interests of those who submitted them,” said Heřmanský.
Babiš’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.