Andrej Babis is featured in a report by The New York Times on subsidy fraud in the European Union. The report shines a light on the EU’s secretive subsidy system, and exposes how it’s being abused to enrich oligarchs, populists and mafia figures:
In the Czech Republic, the highest-profile subsidy recipient is Andrej Babis, the billionaire agriculturalist who is also the prime minister. The Times analysis found his companies in the Czech Republic collected at least $42 million in agricultural subsidies last year. Mr. Babis, who denied any wrongdoing, is the subject of two conflict-of-interest audits this year. The Czech government has, in recent years, ushered in rules that make it easier for big companies — his is the biggest — to receive more subsidies.
“The European Union is paying so much money to an oligarch who’s also a politician,” said Lukas Wagenknecht, a Czech senator and economist who used to work for Mr. Babis. “And what’s the result? You have the most powerful politician in the Czech Republic, and he’s completely supported by the European Union.”
Read the full story at The New York Times