Gold bullion seized in Czeglédy case

Authorities have seized a 1kg bar of gold bullion from an Austrian bank as part of an investigation into left-wing opposition politician Csaba Czeglédy, who was taken into custody in June suspected of large-scale budgetary fraud, the Csongrád County prosecutor said on Friday.

Hungarian investigators assisted by officials of Eurojust, the European Union Judicial Cooperation Unit, discovered the gold in a safe in an Austrian bank used by Czeglédy, the prosecutor’s spokesman told a news conference.

The bullion is estimated to be worth 10 million forints (EUR 32,000).

Czeglédy was local government representative of Szombathely, in south-west Hungary, representing Éljen Szombathely-Socialists-DK-Együtt. He also worked as a lawyer for DK and the Socialists.

As we wrote before, Czeglédy is one of ten suspects in the case charged with committing tax evasion as part of a criminal organisation through a series of companies, causing damages to the state of up to 3 billion forints between 2013-2016.

Investigators will look into the possibility of the practices having been extended to Slovakia, the spokesman said.

The ruling Fidesz party group called on the opposition Socialists and Democratic Coalition (DK) to reveal what they knew about the origins of the gold bullion seized from Czeglédy’s safe. Czeglédy’s criminal gang has been caught, the Fidesz group said in a statement.

“The lawyer of [DK leader Ferenc] Gyurcsány and [Socialist prime ministerial candidate László] Botka has been hiding gold in an Austrian safe and perhaps he is still hiding money stolen from students and from the state,” it said, referring to the student recruitment company Czeglédy was linked to.

Photo: MTI

Source: MTI