The science and technology ministry has filed a criminal complaint alleging misuse of funds and budget fraud exceeding 100 billion forints (EUR 275,000) in connection with the “Gondosóra” programme that hands out and manages an emergency alert device for the elderly, Zoltán Tanács, the minister, said on Monday.

Huge fraud in connection with the emergency alert device for the elderly?

The scheme is a government initiative launched in 2022 to provide elderly Hungarian citizens aged 65 and over with a free GPS-enabled emergency alert device, enhancing their safety and enabling them to call for help in emergencies, MTI wrote.

Responding to a question from Tisza MP Éva Görögh Bocskai in Parliament, Tanács called the Gondosóra programme a “typical phenomenon” of the previous government’s NER system of national cooperation where “a good initial idea was stolen, distorted and overpriced before being forced on society“.

Gondosóra emergency alert device
Elderly couple receives their new Gondosóra devices. Photo: Facebook/Gondosóra

Tanacs said that authorities had already launched investigations and filed reports in connection with the scheme. On Monday, the ministry added its own report, citing suspicions of misappropriation of funds and budget fraud worth over 100 billion forints.

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He said that more than 6,500 documents, invoices, contracts and financial statements were reviewed, uncovering over 12,500 suspicious cases, including more than 1,500 flagged as critically high-risk.

Tanacs also said that the head of the Government Service Centre Nonprofit, the body responsible for the programme, along with several members of its leadership, are being dismissed effective today, and an interim leadership will be appointed to ensure uninterrupted service.

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