EU funds stolen by corruption network in Hungary: charges filed
The Central Investigative Prosecutor’s Office has pressed charges in a corruption case involving tender grants. The Prosecutor General’s Office has indicated 54 individuals, including senior officials, and 25 implicated legal entities.
The funds received surpassed HUF 25 Billion (EUR 64,614,993) in total value, resulting in an extensive investigation spanning over 100,000 pages of documents and a 400-page indictment. The charges pertain to bribery and related offences. Details suggest the involvement of 108 applications, primarily from the Economic Development and Innovation Operational Programme funded by the EU, alongside 8 applications from the Health Support Programme, funded domestically, according to Index. The indictment alleges that:
A key official established a highly structured corruption network, leveraging extensive connections with project managers and executives of applicant companies.
The total value of the funding applications submitted surpassed HUF 25 Billion.
The details
The statement from the Central Investigative Prosecutor’s Office asserts that the scheme involved this individual, along with a cohort of officials under his representation, orchestrating the procurement of tender wins, manipulating audits in favour of companies and granting favourable evaluations for tender applications in exchange for millions of euros. The Prosecutor General’s Office provided an extensive overview of the investigation, revealing that over 300 applications were scrutinised, 50 locations were searched and over 600 pieces of criminal evidence were seized. The case yielded a staggering 100,000 pages of investigative documents, with the indictment spanning approximately 400 pages. In the indictment, the Prosecutor General’s Office recommended a prison sentence, several million forints in fines, and a permanent ban from public office for the 12 officials, alongside fines for the implicated companies. Additionally, the Prosecutor General’s Office proposed the confiscation of assets amounting to around one billion forints (roughly EUR 2,584,599), derived from corruption, from the officials. The statement further explained that to facilitate asset confiscation, all assets – both those surpassing the received bribe amounts and any inconsistent with their documented income – were seized from the defendants and their relatives and placed the defendants under arrest. Throughout the proceedings, several suspects made revealing confessions that significantly aided the office in solving the case.
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