Appeals court acquits defendants in Sukoró casino case

Budapest, October 26 (MTI) – An appeals court in Szeged on Wednesday acquitted the former head of the National Asset Manager (MNV) and the MNV’s former sales manager of charges of large-scale misappropriation of public funds in the Sukoró casino case.

A year ago, former MNV chief Miklós Tátrai was sentenced to four years in prison for causing damages to the state in connection with a planned casino investment near the village of Sukoró, next to Lake Velencei, in central Hungary. The secondary defendant, Zsolt Császy, was charged as an accomplice in document fraud and given a sentence of 42 months in prison.

The Szeged court said in its justification of the acquittal that no criminal activities had been ascertained.

The prosecutor has appealed against the acquittal.

The case goes back to the summer of 2008 when the Socialist-led government, represented by MNV, signed a controversial land-swap contract with Israeli-Hungarian businessman Joav Blum. Ferenc Gyurcsány, prime minister at the time of the transaction, was also investigated for suspected abuse of office in the deal, a charge that was later dropped.

Photo: facebook.com/LakeVelence

Source: MTI