Socialists demand answers from ministry on Quaestor compensation

Budapest, August 5 (MTI) – The Socialists have turned to the economy minister, demanding an explanation for why the company Quaestor Financial Hrurira would be wound up in a way that its financial obligations are written off.

Laszlo Szakacs, a lawmaker of the opposition party, told a press conference held in front of the central bank on Wednesday that the procedures to wind down the company began on July 9. Szakacs noted that Quaestor Financial Hrurira issued fictitious bonds earlier this year.

Hrurira has financial obligations towards Quaestor clients, banks who guaranteed funds and even the central bank, but these are now being forgiven, Szakacs, who is member of the parliamentary subcommittee in charge of investigating the case, said.

Szakacs said Fidesz had promised in April, when a related law passed, that all clients of bankrupted Quaestor would be compensated within three months. The government has used delaying tactics, which is why the Socialists are now addressing Economy Minister Mihaly Varga, he said.

Szakacs said they also wanted answers to why the foreign ministry withdrew funds from Quaestor just before it went under and why the government is claiming that it must wait for rulings on constitutional complaints before it can arrange compensation in the Quaestor case, when this has no bearing on the case.

Zoltan Gogos, the party’s deputy leader, told the press conference that the Socialists want to offer support to Quaestor clients demonstrating outside the central bank building.

Government office chief Janos Lazar said in July that banks, led by OTP Bank, were blocking the possibility of one-off compensation, given their appeals to the Constitutional Court. Until there is a ruling, the Investor Protection Fund can only make payments of up to 20,000 euros per client, to a total of 88 billion forints, while payments of 20,000 to 100,000 euros were pending approval from the top court.

The leftist opposition Democratic Coalition (DK) also called on the government to provide answers and clear up the role of the central bank in the Quaestor case. Deputy leader Laszlo Varju told MTI that the scandal happened because people “trusted a business close to Fidesz with their money”.

The Investor Protection Fund (Beva) has already paid out 75 billion forints to nearly 27,000 clients to which the central bank had provided credit, the central bank said on its website on Wednesday.

The Socialists “fake concern” in the case is “totally incredible” as they have “always stood on the side of cheating brokers,” ruling Fidesz said in a statement. During Socialist governments oversight of brokerages was laxened and even now the party fails to support government efforts to tighten regulations on brokerages, it said.

Photo: MTI

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters