Czech court cancels for second time ruling that acquits former Prime Minister Babiš of fraud charges
The court returned the case for retrial to Prague's Municipal Court to deal with it, saying the lower court, which acquitted Babiš for the second time last year, did not properly assess evidence.
Babiš had pleaded not guilty and repeatedly said the charges against him were politically motivated. The prosecution had originally requested a suspended sentence and a fine to be paid by the populist billionaire who left the courtroom before the verdict was announced.
The municipal court acquitted Babis for the first time in 2023. Prague's High Court later canceled that decision and ordered the case to be retried at the same court.
Babiš' former associate Jana Nagyová, who signed the subsidy request, will also face retrial.
The case centered around a farm known as the Stork's Nest, which received EU subsidies after its ownership was transferred from the Babiš-owned Agrofert conglomerate of around 250 companies to Babis' family members. Later, Agrofert again took ownership of the farm.
The subsidies were meant for medium- and small-sized businesses, which Agrofert wouldn't have been eligible for. The conglomerate later returned the subsidy.
The lower court previously said what Babiš did was not considered criminal.
Babi has become part of the country's opposition after his populist ANO (YES) centrist movement lost the 2021 parliamentary election. He also contended for the largely ceremonial post of president in January 2023 but lost to Petr Pavel, a retired army general.
Monday's verdict comes just months before October's parliamentary election in which Babiš and his movement are predicted to win the vote.
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And while today Germany is a minor market (only 6,323 cars sold in H1), registrations there were up by 426 per cent in the half year to 30 June. As we know, Ford of Britain lost its long-time leadership in passenger vehicles to VW. Kia and BMW remain major challengers, as are Toyota, Nissan, Skoda, Peugeot, Mercedes, Vauxhall and MG, with China's now number one brand rising rapidly. Six-figure sales in the UK by decade-end? Nobody should underestimate how determined BYD is about the European region and Britain specifically. Pricing here for cars has always been high in world terms and that makes us a major target for profit-hungry OEMs. I would expect BYD to be selling far in excess of the 19,390 vehicles it retailed in H1 in subsequent half years."How BYD became the new Tesla" was originally created and published by Just Auto, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
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Minnesota House Republicans ask for federal audit of state's Department of Human Services
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