Czech prime minister says he took $200 million payout from his former company
Czech prime minister says he took $200 million payout from his former company
Wed, July 1, 2026 at 3:50 PM UTC
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PRAGUE, July 1 (Reuters) - Czech billionaire Prime Minister Andrej Babis said on Wednesday that he received a 4.25 billion crown ($200 million) dividend from his main company Agrofert last year before putting the firm into a trust, Czech media reported.
Babis says he moved Agrofert irrevocably to the trust this year to address Czech and European rules on conflicts of interest.
Agrofert, a conglomerate with agriculture, chemicals and food production businesses, is a recipient of EU farming and development subsidies.
"Before I put the company into the fund, I was paid a dividend of 5 billion crowns," news website www.idnes.cz quoted Babis as saying. "Agrofert paid 750 million in tax from that."
The European Union has been looking into whether Babis' arrangement meets EU rules, as he is a policymaker on the EU budget as a member of the European Council of national leaders.
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He has insisted that neither he nor his family will regain actual ownership of Agrofert and that the setup is in line with EU and national rules.
Czech news website www.seznamzpravy.cz had earlier reported that the trust's statutes would hand control to his children after he leaves office.
Worth $4.1 billion according to Forbes, Babis owns other assets, including dozens of health and fertility clinics across Europe, through his Hartenberg fund. He retained ownership of those assets after taking the government post late last year.
($1 = 21.2690 Czech crowns)
(Reporting by Jan Lopatka; Editing by Joe Bavier)
Source: “AOL Money”
