Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis gave up the option of forming a new government after his party lost parliamentary elections, promising a smooth handover of power to the bloc of opposition parties that secured a narrow, surprise win on Oct. 9.
Babis’ centrist party ANO (Czech for “Yes”) was defeated by a center-right opposition group. Voting in the tight race began days after Babis faced investigations and public questioning over Pandora Papers reporting that he used offshore companies to buy a luxury French Riviera estate.
In its final days, Babis’ campaign was rocked by reports by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and its Czech partner, Investigace.cz, that he used offshore companies to buy a luxury French Riviera estate for $22 million.
One of the Czech Republic’s richest people, Babis amassed an estimated $3.4 billion fortune during more than two decades as the head of Agrofert, a conglomerate of companies in the chemicals, food processing, farming and media sectors.
Babis was one of the 35 world leaders named in ICIJ’s Pandora Papers. The investigation found that, in 2009, the Czech billionaire used a string of shell companies to secretly buy 16 properties in Mougins, a French village near Cannes. He routed the money through the British Virgin Islands, Washington, D.C., and Monaco, the leaked records show.
After entering politics, Babis did not disclose ownership of the companies or properties in assets declarations public officials in the Czech Republic are required to file every year.
Source: Scilla Alecci/ICIJ, 9th of October 2021. https://www.icij.org/investigations/pandora-papers/czech-prime-ministers-party-narrowly-loses-re-election-days-after-pandora-papers-revelations-in-surprise-outcome/