The European Commission has determined that Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis is in conflict of interest because of his business empire placed in trust funds, and the country may lose some EU funding as a result, daily Hospodarske noviny reported on Friday.
The findings, if confirmed in further proceedings, could mean that the Czech Republic would have to return an unspecified amount of funding paid to the businesses, the daily said on its website, www.ihned.cz.
It would also be a political blow to Babis, who has strongly denied violating any rules. It could close the route to future development funding for the firms, formerly owned by Babis and now in the trust funds that list Babis as their beneficiary.