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Hungarian gang ripped off foreign tourists in Budapest, the damage reaches EUR 2.5 million – PHOTOS
A Hungarian group ripped off foreign tourists in Budapest pubs with more than EUR 2.5 million (HUF 1 billion) by significantly overpricing their drink consumption. The police investigation started in 2024 after they learned about the fraud scheme from reports submitted by foreign nationals. The police arrested five men and five women, while the number of foreign victims probably reached hundreds of whom they could identify 33 persons.
Hungarian gang ripped off foreign tourists in Budapest
According to police.hu, the financial damage caused by the group of Hungarians reached EUR 2.5 million, which they acquired by overpricing the drinks of foreign nationals having a good time in Budapest pubs. Police officers of the National Investigation Agency (NNI) and the police headquarters of the capital’s 7th district participated in the operation.
Based on the authorities’ suspicion, the scheme involved several women who contacted wealthy foreign men visiting Hungary through dating apps. They met mainly in Budapest’s 7th and 8th districts and convinced the men to continue the date in a pub. In the pub, they ordered expensive drinks and cocktails one after the other. As a result, although the men generally consumed little, the bill rose high and the women persuaded their new acquaintances to pay for it. However, the final sum was significantly higher than their real consumption.
Sometimes it happened that, taking advantage of the guests’ drunkenness, they made them pay the bill multiple times. Some victims paid more than HUF 1 million (EUR 2,500) for the drinks. The group followed a strict hierarchy and it was well-organised. The bosses were the owners of the pubs, who got some bartenders, waiters and security guards involved in the scheme. Some members of the gang were blood-related.
Police officers arrested members of the gang in joint action
After gathering enough evidence, nearly two hundred police officers intervened and arrested ten perpetrators simultaneously at ten places in Dunaharaszti and Budapest. Meanwhile, they conducted house searches in nine other sites, including the pubs where the crimes occurred.
The Hungarian police seized accounts, stamps, contracts, phones, POS terminals, and related documents, as well as gas and alarm weapons, and substances suspected to be drugs. In one of the pubs concerned, an ATM was operating, so its transactions are under investigation.
Eight gang members are already behind bars
Police confiscated assets worth a total of EUR 250,000 from the gang members. The goods included cash, an investment gold bar, jewellery, a motorcycle, and an electric scooter. Additionally, the police froze their bank accounts and properties valued at another EUR 250,000. Interestingly, the officers could find another HUF 30 million that one suspect had buried in his garden, believing that authorities would not find it in case of an “exposure”.
The five men and women suspects are accused of more than 30 crimes. Most of those involve fraud committed within a criminal organisation; however, there are also cases of theft using cash substitutes for payment. Out of the ten suspects, investigators took eight into custody and initiated their pre-trial arrest.
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