Page 10 - bne_newspaper_September_01_2017

Central Europe
September 1, 2017 www.intellinews.com I Page 10
Petr Fiala, leader of the rightwing opposition ODS party, tweeted: “Babis’s ‘kneeling on’ sounds like the jargon of the underworld. At least before the elections we now know what his slogan ‘to run the state as a business’ means.”
The tape is just the latest published by Julius Shuman, an anonymous Twitter account under the name of Babis’ alleged secret police handler when he was an informer in the Communist pe- riod. Earlier this year Babis, a former Communist party insider who built up Agrofert with the help of mysterious backers, won a Slovak court judge- ment against the Slovak Memory Institution’s declaration that he was an informer.
The Julius Shuman Twitter account published a tape earlier this year in which Babis was heard discussing with a journalist on one of his news- papers when best to release a scandalous story about a Social Democrat minister. The recording confirmed suspicions that Babis was directing his media empire against his political rivals. Babis argues the recording was an entrapment.
The populist leader, who has made anti-corrup-
tion his party’s main promise, has been beset with financial scandals too, but he nevertheless re- mains well ahead in opinion polls before October’s general election. The most recent poll, by Median, gave his party a 12-point lead over the Social Democrats.
Babis has been accused of using a loophole to evade tax by making Agrofert issue tax-free CZK1 bonds and then buying the whole issue himself. The finance ministry is meant to be investigating the affair but critics argue that it is stalling until after the election. Babis says his use of the bonds was legitimate.
Parliament is poised to consider dropping Babis’ immunity over a police probe into an allegedly fraudulent application for EU aid for his Storks Nest resort. The EU’s anti-fraud watchdog OLAF is also investigating the case.
Babis, who denies any fraud, has attacked the timing of the police probe as politically motivated, saying that they should have waited until OLAF finished its investigation, something that it is only likely to happen after the election.
COUNTRY REPORTS
Check out IntelliNews Pro’s Country Reports covering the 30 countries in Central & Eastern Europe/Commonwealth of Independent States.
A monthly round up of the most important economic, finance, business and political events, the reports are aimed at busy professional investors and companies that need to keep on top of the story.
To subscribe to the reports delivered by email get in touch with our sales staff for a trial.
T. +44 203 633 2008 E. sales@intellinews.com
Or go to bne.eu/welcome to see samples of this and other products.