State Audit Office

Details of the ongoing investigation into Jobbik over party financing

The State Audit Office (ÁSZ) cannot take into consideration the political implications of its investigations, László Domokos, the head of the office, told news portal Origo in an interview on Tuesday in connection with the ongoing investigation into Jobbik.

Earlier this month, ÁSZ issued a report indicating that Jobbik would have to pay a 660 million forint (EUR 2.1m) fine for alleged party financing violations. In the spring, the party ran an anti-government poster campaign. The audit office conducted a financial investigation of the campaign, determining that Jobbik had received a sweetheart deal worth some 330 million forints in violation of the rules in force. It ordered the party to pay a penalty of double this amount.

ÁSZ’s job is to enforce the law and the body is politically independent in carrying out its duties, Domokos said. He said the audit office had become “the most transparent organisation” in Hungarian public life.

Domokos said Jobbik had refused to cooperate with the audit office over the course of the investigation and “a situation indicating criminal activity had arisen”. “This is why we came forward with a draft report,” he said.

He said Jobbik had already failed to turn over data on its finances pertaining to 2015-2016. “This was basically where the problems started,” Domokos said. “As a last resort, my colleagues asked to inspect the party’s data at its premises in late September and this was when they indicated their intention to inspect the documents pertaining to 2017 as well. And they are permitted by law to do that on the spot,” he added.

Domokos said ÁSZ had acted in line with the law over the course of its investigation into Jobbik.

In spite of this “we had not been provided data”, he said, adding that the office had filed a report with the prosecutor with a view to clearing up the matter.

Jobbik has launched a crowdfunding campaign to pay the potential fine.

On Friday, the party held a demonstration at the ruling Fidesz party’s headquarters to protest against what it called “the evolving dictatorial regime” of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and ASZ’s effort “to sideline the party”.

featured image: Jobbik party leader Gábor Vona, facebook.com/vonagabor

Jobbik stages demonstration at Fidesz headquarters

The opposition Jobbik party held a demonstration on Friday evening to protest against what it called “the evolving dictatorial regime” of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and the State Audit Office’s (ÁSZ) recent effort “to sideline the party”.

The torch-lit demonstration was held at the headquarters of ruling Fidesz near Heroes Square and attended by 1,000 to 1,500 protesters.

Addressing the event, Jobbik leader Gábor Vona greeted the representatives of civil groups and other parties including Péter Juhász, leader of opposition Együtt, and András Fekete-Győr, leader of the Momentum party founded this year.

Vona said that although the protesters held different views about the world, they were bound together “by the love of freedom”.

Gábor Vona, photo: MTI

The Jobbik leader said “it is not by accident that Viktor Orbán always pretends to be a freedom fighter while in reality he is stealing our freedom as a petty and coward thief”.

“But we will not be a servant to either the Turks, the Germans, the Russians or Viktor Orbán,” Vona said.

He said that under Orbán’s regime “taxpayers’ money has ceased to be public money, the media has lost its freedom, civil groups have lost their independence and now Jobbik, the strongest opposition party, is about to be liquidated”, making reference to an ÁSZ investigation.

ÁSZ has accused Jobbik of having accepted over 330 million forints (over EUR 1m) in illegal financing and the party is facing a fine by the watchdog.

Vona said that the motivation behind levying a fine which he earlier said was around 660 million forints was “to sentence democracy to death”.

The Jobbik leader accused the prime minister of being interested in nothing else but “power and soccer”.

Photo: MTI
Photo: MTI

Photo: MTI

Vona: Jobbik starts crowdfunding campaign to pay fine

The opposition Jobbik party is launching a crowdfunding campaign to pay a potential fine of 660 million forints (EUR 2.1 million) the State Audit Office (ÁSZ) is going to impose on it, party leader Gábor Vona said on Friday. 

Jobbik is also collecting signatures from international organisations and private individuals to join the party’s protest against the fine, Vona told a press conference. The fine concerns not only the party but also the issue of democracy and Hungary as whole because it shows that ruling Fidesz “wants to sweep away the only enemy that has stayed on its feet”.

Earlier this week ÁSZ accused the party of having accepted over 330 million forints (over EUR 1m) in illegal financing.

The president of State Audit Office (ÁSZ) is László Domokos, who was member of the Hungarian National Assembly (MP) in Fidesz fraction.

The fine could prevent Jobbik from running in next year’s parliamentary elections, Vona said, adding that there is no forum to appeal against ÁSZ procedures.

In response to a question whether businessman Lajos Simicska or any of his companies had offered to help Jobbik pay the fine, he said there were no talks about that and Simicska was not providing financial support for Jobbik.

Vona said he could not tell how much money Jobbik had at its disposal but it cannot be excluded that some staff would have to be fired and party offices closed if the fine is imposed. Asked whether the party would encourage its supporters to protest in the streets, the Jobbik leader said this would not happen before the final ÁSZ report has been published.

In line with the law, Jobbik can only accept donations from Hungarian citizens, he added.

Photo: facebook.com/vonagabor

Manifesto for the Hungarian Democracy by Jobbik

​Press release – The governing Fidesz party, feeling threatened by its opposition, launched a dictatorial action which is unprecedented in the history of post-communist Hungary. F​i​desz wants to eliminate us (Jobbik), the largest opposition party​ ​by administrative means, through the government controlled State Audit Office, which is headed by a former Fidesz MP​.​

The action of the State Audit Office vi​ola​tes all the rights to fair and reasonable legal procedures.

The State Audit Office subjected our party to 1 million Euros ​ subsidy ​reimbursement and a 100%,​ 1 million Euros​ ​fine.

This unjust action can risk our participaton at the upcoming elections in the Spring of 2018, thus the Fidesz government will exclude over one million people of our supporters from the free elctions. This action of the Fidesz government recalls the darkest days of dictatorships and projects of ​an ​even darker future for our ​Homeland​,​ if Fidesz stays in power.

If this can happen to us it can happen to anybody.

Yesterday Fidesz wanted to wipe out civil organizations, today they eliminate opposition parties, tommorrow anybody can bec​o​me a target of the unleashed despotism.

We turn to every democrat – regardless of political views – to protest against Orbán’s tyranny. We ask every democratic political party, social organization, the general Hungarian and international public and every concerned citizen ​to ​stand with and support the endangered Hungarian democracy!

Jobbik group leader: party run in next election ‘doubtful’

Jobbik party’s participation in next year’s parliamentary election has become “doubtful”, group leader János Volner told a press conference on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, the State Audit Office (ASZ) accused the party of accepting over 330 million forints (over EUR 1m) in illegal financing.

The party has accepted no questionable funding from organisations or private individuals, Volner said.

Volner said that in light of the charge the party was expecting a fine of 660 million forints, which would deplete the party’s campaign budget.

“What happened today equals to the first steps of banning and clearing away Jobbik,” the group leader said.

The Audit Office, “which is now headed by a former Fidesz lawmaker”, has barred Jobbik from submitting the requested data ahead of the deadline, then accused the party of keeping it secret, Volner insisted. The body refused to receive the documents on paper afterwards, and made its conclusions without knowledge of them and established the total “randomly”, he said.

featured image: alfahir.hu

Audit Office: Hungary utilising EU funds ‘more regularly, efficiently’

EU flag

Hungary observes the rules more closely and has become more efficient in using European Union funding than in the previous budgeting cycle between 2007-2013, representatives of the State Audit Office (ÁSZ) told a European Parliamentary delegation visiting Hungary, on Wednesday.

According to an ÁSZ statement, the delegation was provided with detailed information on how Hungary has used community funding, as well as on ÁSZ’s audits of agencies distributing those funds.

At a meeting with the delegation, ÁSZ head László Domokos said that

“the efficiency of tying EU funds [to projects] is gradually improving” and added that before 2013 “the process was slowed down by a lack of focused strategic planning and delays in payouts”.

He insisted that bidders in the previous cycle had focused on merely winning grants rather than concentrating on job creation or promoting the national economy.

The delegation of the European Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control (CONT) arrived in Hungary on Monday to probe specific EU-financed projects in the country.

Audit Office, Fiscal Council say budget supports financial stability

Daily News Hungary economy

The 2018 budget bill is sound and will contribute to the country’s financial stability, the head of the State Audit Office (ÁSZ) said in the parliamentary debate of the bill on Wednesday.

If the economy performs as expected, planned revenues can be achieved and in some cases surpassed, László Domokos said.

At the same time, ÁSZ has identified risks of overspending of 107 billion forints (EUR 344.9m), he said.

Domokos also gave warning of over-financing in the real estate market, and he called for considered and careful use of housing subsidies to avoid “creating a real estate bubble”.

He also pointed to dangers connected with planned wage hikes in the public and private sectors as well as measures to boost consumption, which could stoke a rise in imports and lead to a deterioration in the country’s current account balance.

Árpád Kovács, head of the Fiscal Council (KT), said that planned revenues and expenditures accorded with the country’s economic performance so far and forecasts for 2018.

The council sees risks on the income side in terms of VAT, personal income tax and social contributions, he said, adding that overall, however, planned revenues were realistic.

The public debt can be kept within a manageable range even if the economic growth rate is slower than planned, he said. Moreover, it could fall to below 70 percent of GDP for the first time, complying with the stipulations of the constitution, Kovács said.

Audit office prepares anti-corruption guidelines for Budapest’s Olympic bid

government

Budapest, August 5 (MTI) – The State Audit Office is preparing anti-corruption guidelines in preparation for Budapest’s bid to host the 2024 Olympics, the office said on Friday.

The guidelines will list the necessary controls to be applied in various phases of large investment projects, with special emphasis on preventing or reducing corruption risks in the case of Olympics developments. Decision-makers will be given help on identifying the risks and implementing an integrity control system that can prevent or reduce them, the office said in a statement.

The Audit Office has been asked to prepare the guidelines under a parliamentary decision to support Budapest’s bid to host the 33rd Summer Olympics and 17th Paralympics in 2024.

In May, the office submitted its initial study on integrity risks during large investment projects and the controls necessary to handle them.