Built for almost EUR 55 million, closed after two years and now on sale for EUR 25 million: the Hungarian central bank’s luxury development on Lake Balaton. Those responsible for a development in Balatonakarattya, on which the Hungarian National Bank’s foundation spent almost EUR 55 million, may soon be identified, Ágnes Forsthoffer, Speaker of Parliament, said.
Lake Balaton ‘brought into’ luxury complex
The Tisza Party politician said that the central bank’s foundation had built an education and conference centre on the site of a former MÁV children’s holiday camp, describing it as a “sinkhole for public money”. Forsthoffer said that the project was a particularly striking example of how taxpayers’ money had previously been handled, MTI wrote.
She also noted that the luxury complex had operated for barely two years. The facility was available exclusively to MNB employees as a holiday venue before being closed on cost-cutting grounds. The property was subsequently put up for sale for EUR 25 million.
Forsthoffer highlighted another unusual feature of the scheme: she claimed that Lake Balaton itself had effectively been “brought into” the estate’s grounds, atv.hu wrote. The politician branded the arrangement “utterly outrageous”.
Inquiry into central bank project to begin
A parliamentary committee of inquiry into alleged abuses connected with the operation of the Hungarian National Bank is due to begin work on Wednesday. Forsthoffer said that its investigation could soon establish who was responsible for the Balatonakarattya project — and who benefited from Hungarian taxpayers’ money.
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The government is also examining how the property, which remains on the market, might be put to the most appropriate use, she said.
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