Budapest mayor imprisoned for alleged corruption

The mayor of Budapest’s 3rd district, László Kiss, another local council leader and a former employee of the mayor’s office have been placed in detention in connection with alleged corruption, and the prosecutor’s office has initiated their arrest, the Central Investigative Chief Prosecutor’s Office said on Thursday.

Corruption scandal in the 3rd district?

The chief prosecutor’s office has interviewed another five persons as suspects in an ongoing investigation, three of whom have been placed in detention, the statement said.

The office on Wednesday carried out a coordinated operation in connection with the case which involved searching local council properties and companies belonging to the local council and seizing documents.

He is very popular in the district. Photo: FB/László Kiss

Kiss is suspected of arranging regular business transactions after his 2019 election as mayor with a company owned by one of his acquaintances, after which he and several local council employees were receiving kickbacks. The local council allegedly signed overpriced and fictitious contracts to conceal the bribes, it added.

The detention of the deputy mayor interrogated earlier in the case as a suspect has been extended until October 20.

DK chief Gyurcsány did not defend his mayor

László Kiss won the municipal elections in Óbuda on 9 June 2024 with 47.11% of the vote, while his Fidesz challenger received only 38.56%. However, due to a change in the election law, the new local council will not begin its work until 1 October. Fidesz is calling for an early election, claiming that the mayor is culpable. Kiss, a former Socialist lawmaker, switched to the Democratic Coalition (DK) led by former Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány after winning the 2019 elections.

Photo: FB/Ferenc Gyurcsány

Gyurcsány commented on Kiss’s detention but did not unequivocally defend him, stating only that he believed in his innocence. The Hungarian courts will ultimately decide the matter. Gyurcsány slammed the police’s handling of the case, alleging that the authorities detained and imprisoned Kiss to prompt a new election in the district. He framed the issue as an attack on Óbuda, rather than its mayor, which may hold significance in Hungarian domestic politics.

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