Who is Andrij Babis, who may return to the chair of the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic?

Exclusive. Andrej Babiš is a famous Czech entrepreneur, billionaire and politician, one of the most influential figures in the modern Czech Republic.

Born on September 2, 1954 in Bratislava, the son of a Slovak diplomat, he graduated from the Faculty of Economics at the Prague University of Economics and began his career in agribusiness and the chemical industry.

Babis started working for the Slovak state-owned company Petrimex, which was engaged in foreign trade in fertilizers. After the Velvet Revolution of 1989, he emigrated to the Czech Republic and founded Agrofert in 1993, a holding company that has grown into one of the largest agro-industrial concerns in Europe. Agrofert covers the production of fertilizers, food, chemicals and media. Babis is considered one of the richest people in the Czech Republic: according to Forbes, his fortune exceeds 4 billion dollars.

Babis entered politics in 2011, founding the ANO 2011 movement ('Action of Dissatisfied Citizens'), a populist party focused on pragmatism, the fight against corruption, and economic growth. From 2014 to 2017, he served as the Czech Republic's Minister of Finance, where he was responsible for budget and tax reforms.

Babis served as the country's prime minister from December 2017 to November 2021, leading a coalition government. His reign was marked by scandals: allegations of corruption (including in the case of EU subsidies for his companies), conflict of interest and plagiarism in his dissertation, but also successes in the economy and the fight against COVID-19.

In the 2021 parliamentary elections, ANO won the most votes, but Babis was unable to form a coalition and went into opposition. He is known for his Euroscepticism, criticism of Brussels, and emphasis on the Czech Republic's national interests in the EU. Babis has also spoken out about the need for dialogue with Russia and caution in supporting Ukraine.

Andriy Babis has repeatedly been involved in scandals that have affected his reputation and political career.

EU subsidies and conflict of interest (the "Stork's Nest" case)

The most famous scandal concerns the Stork's Nest farm (Čapí hnízdo), which received around €2 million in EU subsidies. The funds were intended for small and medium-sized enterprises, but an investigation found that the farm was linked to Babis' company Agrofert. The allegations were that Babis artificially placed the farm in administration in order to receive subsidies, and then returned it to his control. In 2019, Czech police recommended charges against Babis for fraud and misuse of EU funds.

The European Commission also conducted an audit and found a conflict of interest, as Babis, as prime minister, could influence the distribution of subsidies that affected his business. In 2021, the European Parliament called on the Czech Republic to return some of the subsidies. The case remains open, although the trials are periodically suspended or resumed. Babis denies the charges, calling them politically motivated.

Conflict of interest through Agrofert

As the owner of Agrofert, a large conglomerate that includes agriculture, chemicals, and media, Babis has faced accusations of conflict of interest. As prime minister and finance minister, he had influence over government decisions that could benefit his business empire. For example, Agrofert received significant government contracts and subsidies. In 2017, Babis formally transferred Agrofert to a trust fund to comply with legal requirements, but critics say he retained control of the company. This sparked mass protests in the Czech Republic in 2019, with thousands of people demanding his resignation.

Accusations of collaboration with the communist security service (StB)

In 2018, Slovak archives revealed that Babis had allegedly collaborated with the Czechoslovak Security Service (StB) in the 1980s under the codename "Bures". The charges related to his work at Petrimex, where he provided information about colleagues and business partners, according to the archives. Babis strongly denies the charges, claiming that the documents were fabricated, and has filed lawsuits against the Slovak Institute of National Remembrance. The case remains controversial, as courts in Slovakia have not reached a final conclusion.

Plagiarism in a dissertation

In 2018, Czech media reported that Babis's master's thesis, written in the 1980s, contained signs of plagiarism. Experts found that much of the text had been copied from other sources without proper citation. Babis rejected the accusations, calling them an attempt to discredit him, but the scandal has intensified criticism of him personally.

Media impact

Agrofert owns several major Czech media outlets, including the newspapers Lidové noviny and Mladá fronta DNES, as well as the radio station Radio Impuls. Critics accuse Babiš of using these outlets to advance his political interests and manipulate public opinion. This has raised concerns about press freedom in the Czech Republic, especially during his premiership.

Position on Russia and Ukraine

Babis has been criticized for his ambiguous stance on Russia. In 2014, he spoke out against EU sanctions against Russia over its annexation of Crimea, citing economic losses for the Czech Republic. After the outbreak of the full-scale war in Ukraine in 2022, Babis supported humanitarian aid to Ukraine but advocated caution in military support, which drew criticism from pro-Ukrainian activists and politicians.

Panama Papers

In 2016, the Panama Papers leak revealed that Babis had used offshore companies to buy real estate in France, including villas on the Cote d'Azur. While this was not illegal, the information fueled accusations of opacity in his financial dealings.

In the parliamentary elections of 3–4 October 2025, the ANO party led by Babis won, gaining around 35% of the vote and once again becoming the largest force in the Chamber of Deputies. This makes Babis the favorite to return to power, although forming a coalition may take a long time due to the complex and diverse positions of the other parties.

Babis has been married twice: he has two children from his first marriage and four from his second. He owns several residences, including a castle in the Czech Republic, and actively uses social media to communicate with voters. Babis is a Catholic, but his views are often described as centrist with a right-wing bias. Overall, Babis is a charismatic but controversial leader: for his supporters, he is a successful manager, for his critics, an oligarch who seeks as much power as possible through business and informal influence.

Mykhailo Koval, Newsky