Socialists urge probe into paralympic committee head’s using public funds to repay mortgage

Budapest (MTI) – The opposition Socialist Party has called on the Hungarian Olympic Committee to launch an investigation into alleged misuse of sponsorship donations by Zsolt Gomori, head of the Hungarian Paralympic Committee, who is reported to have paid his mortgage using donations for athletes of his organisation.

Agnes Kunhalmi, Socialist deputy chair of parliament’s cultural committee, said the fact that Gomori had repaid 3 million forints (EUR 9,760) to his association “does not change the fact that he has damaged his employers and deceived people who volunteered to sponsor paralympic athletes”.

Kunhalmi said that public trust in the paralympic committee could not be restored unless its leadership was replaced. The politician said MEP Tamas Deutsch, the vice-chair of the paralympic committee, bore responsibility.

Earlier on Tuesday, Gomori announced that he had repaid the sum, but insisted that he had legitimately received it as a subsidy from his committee in 2012. At the time, the committee voted to grant Gomori the subsidy at Deutsch’s proposal.

Radical nationalist Jobbik also said it demanded investigation, by the prosecutor and the government, and calls on the government to take steps to replace committee leaders “unfit for their posts”.

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters