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Dickhead and Bluebeard: corruption scandal of ministry officials in Hungary
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In February, a total of 54 Hungarian ministry officials faced corruption charges, including finance ministry department heads, deputy officials and a former deputy state secretary.
The ringleader of the corruption network could potentially face up to a 10-year sentence, with the prosecution seeking prison terms for several other defendants. Many of those implicated have ties to high-ranking politicians.
The corruption network was exposed during a police raid in April 2022, with 24.hu providing detailed coverage of the case.
Defendants built a corruption network while their job was to combat fraud
According to the indictment, officials accepted bribes in exchange for facilitating the acquisition of non-refundable EU subsidies. Charges were filed in February against several dozen subordinates of Finance Minister Mihály Varga, potentially resulting in significant prison time for many involved.
The first-rate defendant built a well-organised network, maintaining contact with tender writers, project managers and company executives. The minister involved several of his colleagues, including senior government officials. In exchange for millions of HUF, he manipulated tender outcomes, inspection processes as well as the positive assessment of the applications and legal remedies related to the tenders.
Furthermore, they coordinated on-site project inspections: the head of the applicable department of the Ministry of Finance ensured that the relevant controls were carried out favourably for the beneficiaries and were concluded within a short timeframe.
According to the prosecutor’s office, a total of 108 tenders funded by the European Union and 8 domestic tenders were affected, with subsidies exceeding HUF 25 billion ( EUR 64,260,675).
“The case has a special piquancy,” notes 24.hu,
“which is that the first six defendants, serving in the Ministry of Finance, were tasked with implementing the national anti-fraud strategy, thus contributing to fraud prevention and detection.”
Just like in a spy movie: pseudonyms and burner phones
The main defendants invented a secret thieves’ cant (a sort of secret jargon) to conceal their dealings if under scrutiny. Codenames included “the Old One” (az Öreg), “the Kind One” (a Kedves), while some others were called “Turkey meat” (Pulyka husi), “Owl” (Bagoly) and “Greek salad” (Görögsali). The on-site inspection was referred to as “Gestapo”.
The defendant who headed one of the inspections within the Ministry of Finance was derogatorily called “the Dickhead” or “the idiot you have to go to.”
The first defendant acquired an old-school conventional phone without an operating system but with a phone number that was not registered under his name. He regularly changed numbers to evade detection. Similar phones were procured for other defendants to ensure secure communication.
As soon as I saw “Dickhead” I was sure they were referring to Orban.
Hello Hungary! This is the exact reason why the EU is withholding funds. Why would any net contributor want their citizens money going to net taker Hungary when it all goes to corrupt people? Can any Hungarian complain about the EU when it is them that elect these theives. Orban does not want money going to Ukraine, which is fighting for its very existence, but wants more to Hungary that steals it.
Finally, normal comments from individuals that do NOT have their tongue up Orban’s ass. This means you, Norbert