Former Hungarian police officer gets suspended sentence for corruption

Budapest’s municipal appeals court has sentenced a former senior police officer to one year in prison, suspended on probation for a period of three years, for his involvement in corruption linked to businessman and nightclub owner László Vizoviczki, the Budapest Appellate Chief Prosecution Office said on Thursday.

The investigation connected to Vizoviczki started eleven years ago based on a criminal report by the country’s anti-corruption National Protection Service organisation. According to the charges, Vizoviczki who had become highly influential in the catering industry, regularly bribed police officers and other officials to ensure that his businesses operated without disruptions, and to get advance information about planned audits.

The officer sentenced by the appeals court had been charged with trying to get a co-defendant of the case to confess to certain crimes he was charged with in exchange for money.

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In its ruling, the Budapest Court of Appeal upheld a sentence handed down by the Budapest Municipal Court last year.

Vizoviczki is currently serving a 7.5 year prison sentence in a maximum security prison for serial bribery and abuse of classified official information, among other crimes.

Source: MTI