State representative Jaroslav Šaroch filed an appeal against the judgment by which the court in January acquitted the chairman of the ANO movement Andrej Babiš and his former advisor Jana Nagyová in the Čapí hnízdo case. The case will now be dealt with by the High Court in Prague.
“Today, the public representative of the Municipal Public Prosecutor’s Office in Prague, through the Municipal Court in Prague, filed an appeal with the High Court in Prague in the matter referred to as the Čapí hnízdo case. The appeal was filed as a so-called blank appeal, i.e. without detailed reasons. The reasons will be given subsequently, in an additional deadline until May 5, 2023, supplemented,” confirmed Aktuálně.cz, the spokesperson of the Prague City Prosecutor’s Office, Aleš Cimbala.
“With regard to the scope of the written version of the judgment, its structure and the complexity of the matter, the public prosecutor is now studying the delivered judgment in detail. He is dealing with the individual legal considerations of the court and will then consider what argumentation he will use and what specific facts he will challenge in the appeal,” he added.
The acquittal was handed down by the Prague Municipal Court on January 9, and the written justification was sent to the parties last week. Šaroch could file an appeal until this Thursday.
Babiš’s defense attorney, Michael Bartončík, told the Seznam Zprávy server that he does not see reasons for filing an appeal, both on the side of the defense and on the side of the prosecutors.
The indictment alleges that at the turn of 2007 and 2008, Babiš arranged for the withdrawal of Farma Čapí hnízdo from Agrofert and the sale of shares to his children and his partner. According to the investigators, he did this so that the farm would appear to meet the conditions for receiving a fifty million subsidy for small and medium-sized enterprises. According to the indictment, Nagyová submitted a successful application for a subsidy. Babiš and Nagy have denied guilt from the beginning.
According to judge Jan Šott, however, it was not proven in the criminal proceedings that Babiš and Nagy had separated the company Farma Čapí hnízdo from the Agrofert holding on purpose in order to be able to apply for a subsidy. According to him, the reason for separating the company was rather family relations. Moreover, according to the judge, Agrofert from Babiš trust funds and Farma Čapí hnízdo did not compete with each other on the same relevant market.
After announcing the verdict, Babiš said that it is good news for all citizens that we live in a state governed by the rule of law. He apologized for calling the case a political process in the past. But he insisted that it was a political prosecution. Nagy said that the case had an impact on her family, work, acquaintances and friendships.
