PRAGUE — Populist billionaire Andrej Babiš said on Thursday he would get rid of his major businesses by moving them to an independent trust in order to be able to become the prime minister again.

Babiš said he believed the move would help him avoid a conflict of interest that could arise from his private dealings and his political status.

“I’ve decided to take a step that I never thought I would take,” Babiš said in a video message on Facebook.

“I’ve decided to irrevocably give up the Agrofert company, with which I will never have anything to do again, I will never own it, I will have no economic relations with it, and I will not be in any contact with it,” he said.

President Petr Pavel said after the announcement late Thursday he would appoint Babiš as prime minister on Tuesday.

Babi

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