Prague, June 30 (CTK) – Andrej Babis, Czech ruling ANO movement head, earned 184 million crowns in business from January 2016 until May 24, 2017, when he ended in the post of finance minister, according to a statement deputies and cabinet members had to send to the Chamber of Deputies by Friday.
Tomio Okamura, chairman of the opposition Freedom and Direct Democracy movement, earned 16 million crowns through business activities last year.
Some deputies invested in real estate, others in cars.
Culture Minister Daniel Herman (Christian Democrats, KDU-CSL) bought securities.
Statements by about 50 out of 200 deputies are available in the Chamber of Deputies’ register. The others are still checked and cannot be seen.
Members of the mandate and immunity committee of the lower house of parliament only check the formal side of the statements. They cannot punish the lawmakers, they can only send an announcement to the self-rule authority in their place of residence if the statement is not submitted or is incorrectly filled in.
According to his statement, Babis gained 180.6 million crowns in interests on one-crown bonds of Agrofert group, which he transferred to a trust fund in February to comply with an amended law on conflict of interest.
He gained about 1.7 million crowns from each the sale of real estate and capital property. Babis also had some incomes from leases and from the SKW Stickstoffwerke Piesteritz GmbH German chemical company.
Babis drew criticism for the one-crown bonds because profits from them are not taxable and some political opponents accused him of expediently circumventing tax rules.
This was one of the reasons why Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka (Social Democrats, CSSD) decided to dismiss him from the government.
Babis’s successor at the head of the finance ministry, Ivan Pilny (ANO), declared an income of 7.76 million crowns from “the sale of shares thanks to a transfer to another bank.”
Those who bought real estate included former industry and trade minister Jan Mladek (CSSD). He and his wife bought a flat for 4.65 million crowns. At the same time, he is repaying a 3.9 million crown mortgage.
