PRAGUE (AP) 鈥� A Czech court on Monday convicted a former associate of populist Prime Minister of fraud and handed her a three-year suspended sentence and a fine.
Babi拧 was also a defendant alongside Jana Nagyov谩 in the $2 million fraud case involving European Union subsidies but could not be sentenced because lawmakers in the lower house of Parliament rejected in March from prosecution.
The populist billionaire began his third term as prime minister in December. He has said that the case was 鈥渃learly politically motivated.鈥� The rejection of the motion means that he can only stand trial after his term ends in 2029.
Nagyov谩 is currently a member of the European Parliament, which has lifted her immunity. Prague鈥檚 Municipal Court also fined her 500,000 koruna, or crowns ($24,000).
The verdict is not final and she can appeal.
The case centered around a farm known as the Stork鈥檚 Nest, which received EU subsidies after its ownership was transferred from the Babi拧-owned Agrofert conglomerate to his family members. Later, Agrofert again took ownership of the farm.
The subsidies were meant for small- and medium-sized enterprises, meaning that Agrofert wouldn鈥檛 have been eligible. The conglomerate later returned the subsidy.
Babi拧 returned to power after his ANO, or YES, movement , forming a governing coalition with two small political groups, the Freedom and Direct Democracy anti-migrant party and the right-wing Motorists.
The coalition鈥檚 agenda includes steering the country away from supporting Ukraine and rejecting some key EU policies.
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