The biggest corruption scandal yet to hit the Tisza movement erupted after Ákos Hadházy published a Facebook post yesterday morning containing a series of emails. The correspondence suggests that certain interests had secured the organisation of the state celebrations on 20 August in advance. The businessman involved has vehemently denied any wrongdoing, while Márk Radnai – who, according to the emails, had oversight of the planning – has sought to distance himself from responsibility. The Ministry of the Interior, meanwhile, has launched an inquiry.
A cheaper event tainted by suspicions of corruption?
Ahead of the 20 August state celebrations, Péter Magyar repeatedly claimed that his government had saved a substantial amount of money compared with Fidesz. Instead of the original 17.5 billion forints, he said, the event had been organised and delivered for less than 4 billion, while providing essentially the same experience. According to Ákos Hadházy, however, it was not only the content that had been cut back – we also reported that the state no longer subsidised various food products and drinks as it had in previous years – but that the planning process itself was shrouded in suspicions of corruption.
The former opposition MP said that Hardrock Ltd, which organised this year’s celebrations, may have gained an improper competitive advantage by learning ahead of its rivals that it would be invited to a hastily announced public procurement procedure for the event. The emails published by Hadházy also suggest that the company held discussions in connection with the tender, received information and even obtained 14 specialists from Gyula Balásy’s company to help deliver the event.
Hadházy said this explained why, although three companies had been invited to bid, Hardrock Ltd was ultimately the only one to submit an offer. He said it was understandable that the short deadline made an open tender impossible, but that there was no justification for giving one company a competitive advantage as a result.
Radnai says he did not even see the emails
The former MP also objected to the fact that Márk Radnai, vice-president of the Tisza Party and government commissioner responsible for building a functioning and humane Hungary, appeared in copy on several of the emails, albeit using an earlier email address associated with the movement. Hadházy argued that this meant Radnai had effectively been aware of everything. Radnai, however, said that this was precisely why he knew nothing about the matter, although he did not identify the person who did know and was therefore responsible for the way the process was handled.
Company chief outraged and considering legal action
Dániel Besnyő, managing director of Hardrock Ltd, also denied that the company had acted improperly. He wrote that he had not conducted the procurement procedure and that his company had been invited to submit a bid by the National Event Organisation Agency. He nevertheless acknowledged that, before the tender was announced, he had requested information from Lounge Event, the previous organiser. He justified this by saying that, by then, it had become an open secret throughout the event-organising industry that Lounge would not be delivering the state celebration.
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He also rejected the suggestion that his company was close to the government or was a “Tisza” business. According to Besnyő, Hardrock has operated independently of political parties and governments for more than 20 years and has successfully delivered more than 500 projects.
Ministry of the Interior launches inquiry
In the meantime, the Fidesz parliamentary group filed a public-interest complaint with the Public Procurement Authority, while Mi Hazánk filed a criminal complaint. The party also alleged that Miklós Zelcsényi, Tisza’s event organiser, had already held discussions with the eventual winner of the tender before the procurement procedure, acting on Radnai’s instructions. Mi Hazánk’s complaint alleges a restrictive agreement, breach of fiduciary duty involving an especially large sum and abuse of office.
The Ministry of the Interior said that the four-day programme itself had been a success: it was delivered at roughly a quarter of last year’s cost and under extremely tight deadlines, with the involvement of nearly 200 partners and subcontractors and more than 1,000 people. The inquiry now under way is expected to establish whether the public procurement procedure behind the spectacular and, according to the government, cost-effective event was conducted lawfully.
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