Simon resigns from Socialist Party

Budapest, February 6 (MTI) – Gabor Simon, the suspended deputy chairman of the Socialist Party whose Austrian bank account was found to contain undeclared assets, has resigned from all his party posts and has given up his seat in parliament. Simon informed MTI of his decision on Thursday.

Related article: Come to light: Top Socialist has undeclared assets in Austrian bank account

In a statement, Simon said the source of money, which was related to his own personal affairs, had no origin in public life and no political aspect. He added that speculation regarding the 18th district of Budapest was groundless.

“I made a mistake in good faith when I did not fill out my asset declaration with due thoroughness,” he said, adding that he would assist every procedure to get to the bottom of the matter.

Socialist leader Attila Mesterhazy told journalists earlier on Thursday that there is no way that Socialist Party funds found their way into Simon’s Austrian bank account.

Mesterhazy said that if it turned out to be true that Simon had undeclared assets held in Austria then he would no longer have a place in the Socialist Party.

Arriving at Budapest’s Ferenc Liszt international airport, Mesterhazy was asked if he knew about the source of the 250,000 million forints in Simon’s account, according to commercial broadcaster HirTV’s website. He said he had no idea and that he would be informed about the matter. In the course of the day, they would close the matter, he added.

Asked whether there were any other Socialist lawmakers who similarly had undeclared assets, Mesterhazy said he thought this could be ruled out, adding it was more likely that this would apply to Fidesz. Having arrived from a visit to Washington, DC, he said he had exchanged only a few words over the phone with Simon and the matter deserved a personal meeting. He said he was shocked to hear of the news, and if true, Simon “does not have a place in the Socialist Party”.

The ruling Fidesz party said the most important questions have not yet been answered in connection with the Simon affair, such as: “Where did the hundreds of millions come from, what did Attila Mesterhazy and the Socialist leadership know about it all and since when have they known about it?”

Photo: MTI

Source: http://hungarymatters.hu/