Parliament suspends corrupted state secretary’s immunity over bribery charges

Lawmakers on Tuesday suspended the immunity of former justice ministry state secretary Pál Völner, who is suspected of having received bribes on a regular basis.

Völner’s immunity was lifted with 128 votes in favour.

Hungary’s public prosecutor Péter Polt initiated the suspension of Völner’s immunity last week so he could defend himself against charges of having received sums of 2-5 million forints (EUR 5,500-13,700) from the president of the branch of bailiffs over a sustained period of time.

Völner on Monday said the proposal submitted by the chief prosecutor’s office to lift his immunity had been “confusing and inconsistent”. He asked for the suspension of his immunity himself so that he could clear his name of the allegations as soon as possible. He resigned as state secretary last Tuesday.