Petr Kellner's Stork's Nest

The history of Agrofert is full of murky loans, mysterious deaths and a labyrinth of mergers, acquisitions and intentional false starts (like United Bakeries). The importance of Stork's Nest is that it can be readily understood even by those who lose themselves in the other cloak-and-daggery. Stork's Nest makes it clear how Andrej Babiš made some of his money. Something similar can be said of Cadogan Telecommunications. One of Petr Kellner's best-kept secrets (except among aficionados) is how he bought and destroyed Telekomunikační montáže Praha (TMP). Mojmír Hampl and Jan Macháček explained the process way back in June 1997 in Respekt. It is the same Respekt that has now revealed, thanks to the Panama Papers, that Kellner used a Kč 1.2bn loan from IPB to an anonymous offshore vehicle, Cadogan, to buy TMP. PPF is now unable to say whether the loan was ever repaid. Which is like Babiš saying he never owned Stork's Nest.