LMP: Public company MVM’s ad spending ‘legalised theft’

Budapest, May 26 (MTI) – Hungary’s state-owned electricity company MVM has spent a total 2.8 billion forints (EUR 9.1m) on advertisements since the start of last year, the co-leader of green opposition LMP said on Friday, citing figures obtained from the company.

Bernadett Szél noted at a press conference that the company enjoyed a monopoly. Spending money to promote itself was therefore “legalised theft”. She insisted that 80 percent of the grand total had landed with “oligarchs close to (ruling) Fidesz”.

Szél said that nearly 1.2 billion forints of MVM’s promotional spending had gone to Árpád Habony, a businessman with close links to the government, through companies associated with him. She also mentioned the government film commissioner and businessman Andrew Vajna and TV personality Gergely Huth among others as alleged beneficiaries.

Szél, who had earlier criticised the Paks nuclear plant for similar advertising, said wasted funds drained the national health and education budgets and people’s wages.

Source: MTI