Prosecutors raise charges against corruption suspects in City Hall case
Budapest prosecutors have raised charges against four people in the so-called City Hall case on suspicion of influence peddling and buying influence.
According to the charges, one of the defendants, who belonged to a real estate company discussed potential property deals with interested parties in 2020-2021, and claimed to be in contact with senior officials of the Budapest Metropolitan Council and the capital’s asset management company, the Budapest public prosecutor said in a statement on Tuesday.
Tenders for selling municipal properties were discussed involving a 10 percent kickback of the purchase price, though the suspect was not working on behalf of the municipality. The charge of influence peddling relates to three properties, two of which the Budapest Metropolitan Council did indeed announce a tender for. One of the transactions would have involved transferring 10 million forints to the suspect’s company, which was the sole applicant.
The third property was the City Hall complex. In this case, the suspect demanded 10 percent of the 40 billion forint purchase price for arranging a personalised tender. The Budapest Metropolitan Council, however, was not attempting to sell the complex, and the interested party rejected the offer.
The other suspects were charged with giving the impression that the chief suspect could undertake what he promised. The prosecutor’s office is seeking a mandatory prison sentence and a fine.
Gergely Karácsony, the mayor of Budapest, said the prosecutor’s charges had revealed the so-called City Hall case: According to Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony, it was a sham case on the part of Fidesz. In a Facebook post on Tuesday, the mayor said the real estate agent’s “disturbing” actions had not had any real influence on the capital’s real estate management. The mayor noted that the capital’s administration had not actually put City Hall up for sale, and those interested in the property had rejected the corrupt offer. He said it was mystifying that the investigation’s findings had taken four years to reveal when City Hall had been prohibited by law from being sold, and there had been no intention to do so.
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