Prague, Nov 28 (CTK) – Czech lower house mandate and immunity committee asked the investigator and the state attorney in the case of a suspected fraud by ANO head Andrej Babis and deputy head Jaroslav Faltynek to attend its meeting dealing with their release for prosecution, Stanislav Grospic said on Tuesday.
The committee, chaired by Grospic (Communists, KSCM), is to discuss the recently delivered police request for the release of both deputies for criminal prosecution by stripping them of their MP’s immunity once again. It is to recommend a stance for the Chamber of Deputies to take on the issue.
If released, Babis, the next prime minister, and Faltynek would be prosecuted on suspicion of an EU subsidy fraud in the Capi hnizdo (Stork Nest) farm case.
Babis and Faltynek were released for prosecution already early in September but regained the deputies’ immunity after the October election, in which ANO scored a victory with almost 30 percent of the vote.
Deputy Katerina Valachova (Social Democrats, CSSD) was chosen as the committee’s rapporteur for the request, Grospic said.
Grospic said the committee asked both investigator Pavel Nevtipil from the Regional Police Directorate in Prague and state attorney Jaroslav Saroch supervising the case to attend, also asking for the relevant file to be made available to it.
A similar procedure was followed in the previous election period when the committee decided on the men’s release.
The respective committee meeting, in which Nevtipil and Saroch should reappear along with both accused deputies, has not been scheduled yet.
Grospic said this is due to the fact that Nevtipil and Saroch had to be stripped of their duty of confidentiality first.
