European lawmaker Jana Nagyová is guilty of EU subsidy fraud in a €2 million case related to Agrofert, the agriculture conglomerate linked to Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, Prague’s High Court confirmed Monday in an appeal ruling.
The court sentenced Nagyová, a Patriots for Europe MEP and a former adviser to Babiš, to a suspended three-year prison term, with a five-year probation period, and a fine of about €20,000 for subsidy fraud and damaging the financial interests of the EU. The decision upheld a lower court ruling from May.
Nagyová has repeatedly denied the charges against her and will appeal to Czechia’s Supreme Court, her lawyer said. She was stripped of her immunity by the European Parliament in April.
The verdict concludes another chapter in a long-running case investigated by Czech authorities and the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF). Prosecutors accused Nagyová of helping with a scheme to carve out Čapí Hnízdo (Stork’s Nest), a recreational center in central Czechia, from the Agrofert conglomerate. The aim was to present it as an independent enterprise, in order to qualify for EU grant conditions for small- and medium-sized businesses. Later, Agrofert took back ownership of the site.
The judicial case initially involved both Nagyová and Babiš. But it was split by Prague’s municipal court after the Czech parliament refused in March to lift the prime minister’s parliamentary immunity. Proceedings against Babiš will remain suspended for the duration of his mandate. He has denied wrongdoing.
Babiš placed Agrofert into a trust fund when he returned as prime minister in December and says he is no longer connected to the conglomerate he founded. But critics say the new structure does little to resolve concerns over conflicts of interest.