Travel agency scandal defendant sentenced after 5 years of trials

A local court on Friday sentenced Mária Dobrai, the former head of failed travel agency Kun-Mediátor, which illegally operated as an investment bank on the side, in absentia to ten years in prison for embezzlement and fraud.

In its non-binding ruling, the Szolnok court also fined Dobrai — identified only as Mrs. Sándor D. for legal reasons — over 5.4 million forints (€ 14,940) and banned her from holding business leadership positions. She will be eligible for release after serving two-thirds of her sentence.

The court said Kun-Mediátor had defrauded its clients of around 10 billion forints (€ 27.8 million) by promising them large interest on their deposits.

It also ordered the confiscation of assets from the company, Dobrai and two of her relatives.

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The defendant has also been ordered to pay a combined 129.3 million forints (€ 360,000) to five of the company’s clients as compensation.

Police launched an investigation in April 2015 after a run on the travel agency. Dobrai was arrested on a Belize island in late 2016 on suspicion of large-scale embezzlement.

The company has been under liquidation since 2016. After the trials, Dobrai’s attorney has appealed the sentence.

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Source: MTI