Prime Minister Andrej Babis (ANO) will not allow himself to be released for criminal prosecution in the Capi Hnizdo case of suspected subsidy fraud, he said in the Chamber of Deputies today.
“I don’t question the justice system, but there are judges who make politically motivated decisions. And that’s why I won’t let myself be extradited,” Babis said.
Next week, the lower house mandate and immunity committee will begin to assess the court request for the release of Babis for prosecution. The committee should make a recommendation to the house’s plenary session in early February.
Babis regained his seat and thus full immunity after the parliamentary elections last October. The case is going on for a fourth term, and the lower house has released him for prosecution three times. His prosecution has been suspended for the time being.
Babis and his former adviser Jana Nagyova, now an ANO MEP, are facing charges over a CZK 50 million subsidy for the Capi Hnizdo (Stork Nest) complex near Olbramovice in Central Bohemia. The Prague City Court acquitted them twice, but both verdicts were overturned by the Prague High Court. In its latest decision in June 2025, the appeals court obliged the city court to find the defendants guilty on the basis of the evidence.
The prosecutor in the Capi Hnizdo case claims that Babis arranged for the removal of the Farma Capi Hnizdo company from the Agrofert holding and the sale of shares to his children and his partner at the end of 2007 and in early 2008. According to the prosecutor, Babis took the step so the company would seem to meet the conditions for obtaining a CZK 50 million EU subsidy for small and medium-sized enterprises, while Nagyova successfully applied for the subsidy.
Babis said today that former president Milos Zeman had offered him a cessation of criminal prosecution.
The lower house mandate and immunity committee will also deal with a court request to release Chamber Speaker Tomio Okamura (SPD) for prosecution.
Okamura and his far-right SPD are facing prosecution for posters used in the campaign ahead of 2024 regional and Senate elections, which criminal investigators say had racist and xenophobic overtones.
Okamura has repeatedly described the prosecution as politically motivated and an attempt to silence him. Last February, during the previous legislative term, the Chamber of Deputies approved his prosecution.
Some opposition politicians have labelled the coalition of ANO, SPD, and Motorists as a coalition of non-extradition. It is expected that the lower house will not release Babis or Okamura for criminal prosecution this time.
The mandate and immunity committee invited Babis and Okamura to its Tuesday meeting. According to CTK’s sources, both confirmed their attendance, and will be accompanied by their lawyers. The committee’s proceedings are closed to the public.
