For the second time, Czech police recommended on Monday that Prime Minister Andrej Babis be indicted over an alleged $2m fraud case involving European Union subsidies.

Babis, who denies any wrongdoing, is suspected of having temporarily transferred ownership of the Stork Nest farm near Prague out of his sprawling Agrofert food, chemicals and media conglomerate in 2007 to make it eligible for an EU subsidy for small companies.

Later, Agrofert took back ownership of the farm.

"Documentation on the case, labeled by the media as 'The Stork Nest Case', was submitted to the supervising state prosecutor today, together with an indictment proposal by the police," the Prague prosecutor's office said in a statement.

"The state prosecutor will now study the submitted documents to decide whether to indict, end the criminal proceedings or handle the matter in some other way," it added. 

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It's not the first time the country's police have suggested Babis be indicted. In 2019, a prosecutor found the allegations against the prime minister to be unfounded, but the case was reopened later in the year when the country's chief prosecutor overturned the decision to clear the now 66-year-old politician. 

According to Babis, the transfer of Agrofert to two trust funds was done to steer clear of a potential conflict of interest, but public registries still list him as the beneficial owner of the group.

Babis, who is the fifth wealthiest Czech, according to Forbes magazine, is also currently facing conflict of interest allegations from the EU over his business empire.

_{Cover image: JOHANNA GERON / POOL / AFP}