Police shutter bar for overcharging tourists in Budapest – VIDEO

Police have closed down a bar in downtown Budapest and arrested four people for overcharging tourists. 

During an operation held on Thursday night, police caught employees of the bar in the fifth district red-handed as they billed 170,000 forints (EUR 550) for two bottles of champagne and two glasses of spirits to a Japanese citizen, the police website said on Friday.

The tourist had been accompanied by staff to an ATM to ensure payment, it said. 

According to information gathered during the investigation, the group have overcharged at least 13 tourists on 10 different occasions, gaining at least 1 million forints.

The owner of the bar and three employees were arrested and charged with fraud,

the statement said.

In June 2017, another group was charged with overbilling on at least 19 occasions over the span of 18 months in a downtown bar. On at least one occasion, the group held the passport of the victim and accompanied him to an ATM to obtain the money, the police had said.

Source: MTI/police.hu