Dickhead and Bluebeard: corruption scandal of ministry officials in Hungary

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 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.

The case also involves stakeholders close to Fidesz and independent politicians

One of the accomplices is Tamás Karsai, nicknamed “Bluebeard,” the former deputy state secretary of Minister of Finance Mihály Varga. He may receive four years in prison, as well as a four-year ban from public affairs, a fine of HUF 2.8 million (EUR 7,173) and confiscation of assets up to HUF 9.5 million (EUR 24,338).

24.hu contacted Mihály Varga’s Ministry on the matter but received no reply. Instead, the Ministry of Public Administration and Spatial Development wrote:

“There is zero tolerance for corruption in Hungary.”

“This is also proven by the fact that the employment of the employees concerned was terminated with immediate effect, regardless of their position. […] The relevant bodies will continue to assist the authorities in everything they do, and any further necessary steps that arise during the investigation will be taken immediately. The government has already taken and will take a number of measures in the future to prevent and detect corruption.”

Gyula Barta-Eke, the former chancellor of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics and the head of the IFKA Közhasznú Nonprofit Ltd., previously under the supervision of the Ministry of Innovation and Technology headed by László Palkovics, may go behind bars for five years and have many of his assets confiscated.

According to authorities, Barta-Eke asked the applicants for a bribe of three million forints each in exchange for the issuance of the pre-qualification certificate for EU tenders. Furthermore, he ensured that the submissions would be positively evaluated by the Ministry of Finance. He received kickbacks exceeding HUF ten million (EUR 25,670) on several occasions.

The fifty-second defendant in the case is István Vancsura, best known as the lawyer and ally of independent member of parliament Ákos Hadházy.

The prosecution accuses Vancsura of money laundering, alleging that the primary defendant purchased two apartments for his relatives using funds acquired through corruption. Vancsura was the legal representative during the purchase. Prosecutors contend that his failure to verify the origin of the purchase price constitutes a breach of legal ethics.

Read also:

• Audio recording out, corruption trial manipulated by PM Orbán’s Cabinet?
• Hungary’s biggest corruption trial concerning front line politicians began

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Source: 24.hu