corruption
March 08, 2010, 10:30 CET
Socialist party suspends membership of Budapest official suspected of graft
Hungary's governing Socialist party has suspended the party membership of Miklos Hagyo, a former representative in the Budapest municipal council who is suspected of taking kick-backs. The politician, who was until recently the second highest-ranking member of the municipal body,... [read complete entry]
February 17, 2010, 10:23 CET
Fidesz mayor suspected of misuse of funds goes on trial
Péter Fenyves, the Fidesz mayor of Mór, went on trial on suspicion of misuse of funds at the Székesfehérvár municipal court on Tuesday. Fenyves denies committing any such crime The Mór local council sold ten hectares of land to its... [read complete entry]
February 12, 2010, 09:36 CET
Fidesz calls on Budapest mayor to resign over transport company scandal
Hungary's main opposition Fidesz on Thursday said Budapest Mayor Gabor Demszky should resign over scandals at Budapest transport company BKV. Istvan Gyorgy, head of the municipal committee investigating fraud allegations at BKV, insisted that large companies owned by the local... [read complete entry]
January 25, 2010, 09:08 CET
Imprisoned former MP Zuschlag fined Ft 15 million by tax authority
Former Socialist politician János Zuschlag was fined Ft 15 million (over €55,000) by the Hungarian tax authority APEH for failing to pay taxes, index.hu revealed, based on an MTI report. Zuschlag denies the allegations. During the course of an assets... [read complete entry]
January 11, 2010, 12:50 CET
Fidesz operative preditcs "short, cheap" campaign focusing on corruption
Hungary's main opposition Fidesz plans to run a short and cheap campaign, the party's campaign chief Gabor Kubatov told MTI on Monday. Fidesz, which is widely expected to win a landslide in the April election, wants a short, cheap and... [read complete entry]
January 05, 2010, 03:36 CET
US-Hungarian oil-for-troops-and-terrorists deal best unfounded conspiracy theory of 2009
While we made a strategic decision not to bother with the traditional retrospective pieces looking back at 2009, we feel it's only necessary to tip our hats to what must be the best unsubstantiated political conspiracy theory reported as... [read complete entry]
January 04, 2010, 09:48 CET
President returns anti-graft authority law to parliament
Hungary's President Laszlo Solyom has returned a law on setting up an anti-graft authority to parliament for review, the president's office told MTI on Wednesday. The law envisages setting up a national anti-corruption office, an autonomous body within state administration... [read complete entry]
December 15, 2009, 09:53 CET
Parliament passes law setting up anti-graft office
Hungary's parliament on Monday passed the government's bill to set up a national anti-corruption office. The bill was supported by 179 deputies, while 163 voted against and four abstained. The new office, focusing primarily on public procurement and public interest... [read complete entry]
December 14, 2009, 11:01 CET
Parliament to vote on anti-graft package Monday
Hungary's Parliament will vote on the government's package of anti-corruption laws on Monday, government spokesman Domokos Szollar told MTI on Sunday. The package contains amendments seeking to increase the transparency of political campaigns, ensure tracking the disbursement of public funds... [read complete entry]
December 10, 2009, 09:38 CET
Orbán says Hungarian society dominated by "organized lies"
Politics cannot be built on a foundation composed of lies, main opposition Fidesz party leader Viktor Orban said in Bonn on Wednesday, addressing a roundtable focussing on the experience of the year 1989 during a European People's Party congress. Orban... [read complete entry]
December 09, 2009, 09:56 CET
Public support crucial for reducing corruption, Bajnai says
Parliament's expected passage of an anti-corruption law next Monday will be a milestone, but its stipulations will not resolve all problems: public support to their enforcement is also needed, Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai said on Wednesday, the International Anti-Corruption Day.... [read complete entry]
December 07, 2009, 01:27 CET
Memo to President Sólyom: What those foreign embassies said about corruption in Hungary wasn't offensive, at least compared to what I'm about to say about you
Unlike many people, I don't find the largely ceremonial state presidencies in countries like Hungary to be inherently silly. Of course I'd rather dispense entirely with all the protocol duties that such presidents spend much of their time engaged... [read complete entry]
December 07, 2009, 10:49 CET
Sólyom calls embassies' statement on corruption in Hungary "offensive"
Hungarian President Laszlo Solyom on Saturday said nine embassies in Hungary that issued a joint statement in mid-November to call attention to the lack of transparency that they say negatively impacts Hungary's investment climate expressed their problem in an offensive... [read complete entry]
December 07, 2009, 10:28 CET
Orbán says ready to form new gov't quickly, says current budget a "fraud"
Viktor Orban, leader of the main opposition Fidesz party, wants to form the next government in a fast and efficient manner next spring, he told MTI on Friday. Orban, whose party appears in polls as the winner of next year's... [read complete entry]
November 26, 2009, 10:06 CET
Survey finds majority supporting Orbán as PM
Hungary's main opposition Fidesz party leader Viktor Orban was seen as most voters' choice for prime minister, well ahead of the Socialist party's likely candidate Attila Mesterhazy, by a poll from research firm Nezopont Institute revealed on Wednesday. The poll,... [read complete entry]
November 25, 2009, 09:13 CET
Gov't backs launch of corruption survey by State Audit Office
The Hungarian government welcomes that the State Audit Office (ASZ) will launch a programme to survey corruption risks, government spokesman Domokos Szollar told MTI on Tuesday. ASZ General Secretary Pal Csapodi announced earlier on Tuesday that the office will start... [read complete entry]
November 24, 2009, 08:23 CET
PM says embassy open letter on corruption not directed at government
Nine embassies in Budapest who last week wrote an open letter calling attention to a lack of transparency they said negatively affected Hungary's investment environment were critical not of the government, but of institutions independent of the government, parties, local... [read complete entry]
November 23, 2009, 08:38 CET
Bajnai to meet ambassadors over criticism of investment climate
Hungarian Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai on Monday will meet the nine ambassadors who expressed concern over factors that they considered having a negative impact on Hungary's investment climate, government spokesman Domokos Szollar told MTI on Sunday. Issuing a joint statement... [read complete entry]
November 20, 2009, 10:43 CET
Political parties respond to embassies' joint statement on corruption
Hungary's governing Socialists said on Thursday that special attention must be paid to a joint statement by nine embassies criticising the lack of transparency in Hungary's investment environment, while main opposition Fidesz said it represented harsh criticism of nearly eight... [read complete entry]
November 19, 2009, 09:22 CET
Embassies make joint call for more transparency in Hungarian public life
The embassies of nine countries issued a joint statement Wednesday expressing concern over "non-transparent behaviour" in Hungarian public life. The joint statement from representatives of the US, Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland noted that... [read complete entry]
November 19, 2009, 08:15 CET
Fresh controversy over payments to jailed Budapest mayor
Opposition party Fidesz has complained that Socialist mayor of District VII György Hunvald, who has been in preliminary arrest since February, is still receiving his salary, writes Népszabadság. András Cser-Palkovics, deputy spokesman for the party said it did not make... [read complete entry]
November 18, 2009, 09:49 CET
Hungary scores poorly on new international corruption ranking
Hungary scored 5.1 points on Transparency International's 1- to 10-point Corruption Perceptions Index for 2009, TI Hungary managing director Noemi Alexa said on Tuesday. Hungary's score put it at 46th place in the global ranking, up one position from a... [read complete entry]
November 10, 2009, 07:28 CET
Hungarians see Socialists as most corrupt political party
A new poll by the Nézőpont Intézet has returned the unsurprising results that of those willing to state their belief that a political party is corrupt, the Socialists came in first with 23%, with the Free Democrats coming in second... [read complete entry]
November 10, 2009, 02:00 CET
Socialist Party to square off with District VII Socialists over jailbird mayor’s pay
Last Friday, the Socialists in Budapest’s District VII voted down a Fidesz-sponsored measure to revoke District Mayor György Hunvald's salary, who is currently under arrest for a slew of corruption charges. Later that day, index.hu reported that the Justice Ministry... [read complete entry]
November 09, 2009, 07:22 CET
Pokorni reaffirms Fidesz's plans for post-election investigations
The famous scandals of recent years must be further investigated and an attempt must be made to call to account those responsible for damages, deputy leader of the main opposition Fidesz party Zoltan Pokorni told MTI on Saturday. "Perhaps the... [read complete entry]
November 06, 2009, 01:16 CET
The Politics.hu Interview: Bálint Molnár, Freedom House Europe
Yesterday's news of the collapse of cross-party talks over campaign finance reform again put the spotlight on the murky nexus between money and elections in Hungary. The negotiations, which were taking place in advance of next year's general elections, were... [read complete entry]
November 05, 2009, 10:32 CET
NGOs cancel cross-party talks on campaign finance, claim Fidesz at fault
Transparency International (TI) and Freedom House will not recommence last week’s failed cross-party talks on campaign funding. The international civil groups said they made the decision after Fidesz gave no substantive response to their reform proposals, but underlined that they... [read complete entry]
November 04, 2009, 01:01 CET
Squabbling parties kick off new corruption cooperation deal with joint radio appearance
If you've ever gotten the feeling that all the hysterical finger-pointing by members of Hungary's leading political parties over allegations of corruption is just a big pantomime aimed at keeping the populace distracted while they carve up the country... [read complete entry]
November 04, 2009, 09:51 CET
Poll shows widespread concern about corruption among Hungarians
Over four fifths of Hungarians say corruption is a serious and unresolved social problem and demand severer punishments for offenders as well as more public-awareness campaigns, according to a survey by Szazadveg, a think-tank, published on Tuesday. The response broadly... [read complete entry]
November 04, 2009, 09:44 CET
Study finds graft rampant in Hungarian public procurements deals
Graft affects up to three quarters of Hungarian public procurements and bumps up the cost of each by 25 percent, head of GKI, a think-tank, told a news conference on Tuesday. Andras Vertes said there was general agreement that the... [read complete entry]
November 02, 2009, 10:47 CET
Justice minister calls for more transparent public procurement
An anti-graft bill submitted earlier this week is expected to ensure that public procurement procedures are clear and fair while dishing out appropriate penalties for transgressors, Justice Minister Tibor Draskovics told journalists at the weekend. Anyone who uses underhand means... [read complete entry]
October 30, 2009, 11:56 CET
Witness says ex-MP told of vast conspiracy in corruption probe
Former Socialist MP János Zuschlag knew his phone was being monitored, was provided manuscripts of conversations recorded by the authorities, and consulted former Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány and Socialist Chairwoman Ildikó Lendvai during the prosecution process, a witness said at... [read complete entry]
October 28, 2009, 08:04 CET
Government proposes anti-corruption package in its final six months
The Bajnai government gave parliament it's proposed anti-corruption package yesterday nol.hu reports. The package came over six months after the current government assumed office and with less than six months to go before elections. The aim of the package would... [read complete entry]
October 22, 2009, 09:31 CET
Socialists say early passage of campaign finance bill a priority
The Socialist Party would like Parliament to pass a bill on campaign funding as soon as possible, caucus director József Tóbiás told Népszabadság on Wednesday. He said Socialist officials will attend talks initiated by Freedom House and Transparency International Hungary... [read complete entry]
October 20, 2009, 10:01 CET
Multi-party talks over municipal standoff in Budapest fail
Representatives of five parties in the Budapest municipal council failed to come to an agreement on Monday on the future framework of cooperation after the Socialist-liberal coalition split last week. The Socialists quit the coalition with the liberal Free Democrats... [read complete entry]
October 20, 2009, 09:57 CET
TV journalist films evidence of electoral fraud
A staff member of MTV's "A szólás szabadsága" show paid local residents Ft 1,000 each to sign local election nomination slips, and recorded his actions on camera to prove that anybody can obtain such signatures for cash. By-elections will be... [read complete entry]
October 16, 2009, 09:50 CET
Gyurcsány, other leading Socialists face questioning in Zuschlag fraud case
A court has ordered the questioning of former prime minister Ferenc Gyurcsány, Socialist caucus leader Attila Mesterházy, former secret services minister György Szilvásy and three lesser-known politicians as suspects in the Zuschlag fraud case. The Bács county prosecutor has pressed... [read complete entry]
October 15, 2009, 11:42 CET
Top Fidesz official says he hopes to see Socialists face criminal charges
Laszlo Kover, the main opposition party's national committee chief, said in an interview to MTI that Fidesz hoped to see Socialist politicians, including one-time ministers, "brought to account in the courts" after the 2010 elections. Kover said that members of... [read complete entry]
October 14, 2009, 09:59 CET
Budapest Socialists sever coalition with Liberals over business deals
The Socialist Party decided on Tuesday to dissolve the coalition on Budapest city council with the Free Democrats and recall its deputy mayors, after the liberals voted against a Socialist proposal to publish online all contracts worth over Ft 5... [read complete entry]
October 05, 2009, 02:27 CET
Passive-aggressive mail campaign launched against imprisoned district mayor
The above flier appeared in my mailbox last week, and in English, it says "Do you agree that a monthly salary of Ft 742,560 is deserved in prison? The Socialists do!" No doubt meant to ride on the coattails... [read complete entry]
October 05, 2009, 11:00 CET
Szíjjártó lays out Fidesz's post-election priorities
The first priority of a Fidesz government will be to launch economic growth by cutting taxes, Peter Szijjarto, the head of the party's cabinet, told MTI in an interview. Szijjarto said that Fidesz would renegotiate the conditions of the IMF-led... [read complete entry]
September 28, 2009, 10:09 CET
Orbán says Fidesz would quickly move to make sweeping changes
“Fidesz will not require a 100-day grace period if it wins the next parliamentary elections; and will start work at once,” chairman Viktor Orbán told the tabloid Blikk on Saturday. He said “one million new jobs, 3,000 more police officers... [read complete entry]
September 23, 2009, 09:12 CET
Fidesz demands investigation into Ft 500 million grant to civic group
Fidesz is turning to the Prosecutor General in regards to a Ft 500 million (over €1.8 million) grant from the Ministry of Agriculture to the Leader public benefit organization, inforadio.hu reported. Fidesz MP Sándor Font pointed out that the address... [read complete entry]
September 22, 2009, 12:25 CET
Orbán Kolompár has the strength of five normal Roma Politicians!
While he apparently remains steadfast in his refusal to resign as head of Hungary's official National Gypsy Authority due to the various criminal charges he faces, Orbán Kolompár has nevertheless decided to step back a bit from the organization, allegedly... [read complete entry]
September 18, 2009, 11:23 CET
District mayor's assets frozen as investigation into property scam extended
The assets of Seventh District mayor György Hunvald have been frozen, the Central Investigative Prosecutor's Office announced. The Office has extended until February its investigation into property scams in the district, which has roped in 21 suspects, including Hunvald. The... [read complete entry]
September 17, 2009, 11:58 CET
Budapest mayor remains out of jail despite prison sentence
The former deputy mayor of Budapest's District X (Kőbánya) was arrested four years ago and sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty in a bribery case involving millions of forints, yet to date has not spent a day... [read complete entry]
September 14, 2009, 09:42 CET
Orbán denounces draft 2010 budget; warns of "collapse" of state services
Fidesz chairman Viktor Orbán on Friday urged the cabinet to withdraw the draft 2010 budget and not stand in the way of change as he addressed a Fidesz rally to launch the autumn political season. Speaking at Budapest's Millenáris Park,... [read complete entry]
September 09, 2009, 10:10 CET
Mud-slinging begins in District government corruption dogfight
It was inevitable that Budapest's Socialists would hit back against Fidesz after several of its local government officials have become embroiled in high-profile embezzlement scandals. According to MSZP, Budapest's District XVII, led by opposition party Fidesz, lost nearly Ft 100... [read complete entry]
August 28, 2009, 11:53 CET
Bajnai gets tough on BKV and overspending local goverments
Hungary's government will not agree to bailing out either Budapest's transport company BKV or any overspending companies under local-government control, Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai said in an interview carried in Thursday's Blikk tabloid. The government will not undertake to guarantee... [read complete entry]
August 19, 2009, 09:43 CET
Former spokesman for prosecutor's office arrested on bribery charge
A former spokesman of the Budapest Prosecutor's Office, Gergely Varga, has been taken into custody for bribery, index.hu writes, based on an MTI report. The Central Investigating Prosecutor's Office said Varga had been taken into custody on Monday. On July... [read complete entry]
August 19, 2009, 09:28 CET
Mayor continues to get sick, dirty money in jail
György Hunvald, the former mayor of Budapest's District VII former (Erzsébetváros), is still taking in nearly Ft 250,000 (over €900) a month despite having been in preliminary detention on charges of bribery and other crimes for more than six months,... [read complete entry]
July 22, 2009, 09:41 CET
Socialist MP Kékesi may be suspect in Budapest property corruption case
"What must happen will happen," Socialist MP Tibor Kékesi Tuesday told Lánchídrádió in a report suggesting that he could become a suspect in the Sixth District property corruption case. The prosecutor's office is currently investigating five suspicious district property sales... [read complete entry]
July 22, 2009, 09:17 CET
Roma authority chief urged to resign following corruption charges
National Alliance of Roma Authorities chairman László Vajda yesterday called on National Roma Authority leader Orbán Kolompár to resign "as he may not represent the interests of Hungarian Roma people". The Budapest Prosecutor general's Office last Friday pressed embezzlement and... [read complete entry]
July 17, 2009, 09:39 CET
Fidesz vice president Kövér under investigation for bribery
Pest county Police are investigating a suspected bribery case concerning road construction in Fót, stemming from a recording that invokes the name of Fidesz vice president László Kövér. So far, police have questioned only those local council members who received... [read complete entry]
July 01, 2009, 09:47 CET
Freedom House "democracy rating" for Hungary declines
Hungary was graded down in a democracy rating by the independent US-based Freedom House in a report published on Tuesday. The report warns of radicalisation tendencies in Hungarian politics. "Democratic institutions are robust and likely to hold despite reckless party... [read complete entry]
June 29, 2009, 10:07 CET
MDF head refutes blackmail claim; charges prosecutorial misconduct
Ibolya Dávid accused the prosecutor's office of violating the law and denied that she had committed a crime against OTP chairman-CEO Sándor Csányi on MTV's "Nap-kelte" talk show on Saturday morning. Dávid also accused the prosecutor's office of using the... [read complete entry]
June 22, 2009, 09:41 CET
Newspaper charges Justice Minister ordered framing of journalists
Justice Minister Tibor Draskovics last spring illegally instructed National Bureau of Investigations director general Attila Petőfi to plant drugs in the car of HírTV reporters Ákos Krakkó and Szabolcs Kisberk, Magyar Nemzet reported on Saturday. Draskovics reportedly told Petőfi on... [read complete entry]
June 10, 2009, 09:34 CET
Noted expert says corruption to blame for rise of Jobbik
Corruption in voters' eyes undid the Socialist and Free Democrat parties in Sunday's EU elections, political scientist László Lengyel comments in a contribution to hvg.hu. There is no Socialist or liberal voter who could not cite an example of corruption,... [read complete entry]
June 08, 2009, 09:35 CET
Election commission cries foul over "robot" phone calls
The National Election Commission (OVB) on Sunday declared illegal the automated telephone calls that encouraged people to vote for a particular party on Sunday. Such campaigning is considered a violation of the campaign silence rule. OVB will decide at a... [read complete entry]
June 05, 2009, 12:04 CET
Jobbik anti-corruption campaign infected by contact with sleaze "patient zero"
In addition to its unabashed "Hungary for the Hungarians" nationalism, the right-wing Jobbik has been actively campaigning on a pledge to clean up Hungary's endemic corruption. As we saw yesterday, party chief Gábor Vona appeared with Hungarian Doctors' Association president... [read complete entry]
June 04, 2009, 12:43 CET
Jobbik demands "corrupt" politicians be held to account
Jobbik, a non-parliamentary radical party which polls indicate will win at least one seat in the European Parliament, is calling for a change of government and for Hungary's ruling politicians to be "held to account", the party's leader, Gabor Vona,... [read complete entry]
June 04, 2009, 12:29 CET
Think tank says political and economic risk in Hungary at all-time high
The economic and political risk index has dropped to an all-time low in Hungary in the past year and a half, a country report by the think tank Political Capital (PC) and the economic weekly Figyelo, published on Wednesday, stated.... [read complete entry]
June 02, 2009, 09:12 CET
Charges pressed against SZDSZ officials in election fraud case
The Budapest Prosecutor General on Friday pressed forgery charges against eight persons in connection with the 2007 Free Democrat leadership election. Spokeswoman Gabriella Skoda said charges had been brought against a chairwoman of one of the party's county chapters and... [read complete entry]
May 27, 2009, 09:40 CET
PM says gov't to propose new anti-graft measures
The government will propose new anti-graft measures within the first half of the year, Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai told reporters at a joint news conference with Chair of Transparency International (TI), Huguette Labelle in Budapest on Tuesday. Under the measures,... [read complete entry]
May 14, 2009, 04:41 CET
Orbán says politicians should be legally accountable
Chairman of the conservative opposition Fidesz party Viktor Orban wants politicians to be legally accountable, he said in an interview with the Hungarian right-wing weekly Magyar Demokrata, published on Wednesday. In Orban's view Hungary needs a strong government to rebuild... [read complete entry]
May 07, 2009, 11:10 CET
Transparency International urges parties to sign anti-graft declaration
The Hungarian chapter of Transparency International (TI) on Wednesday urged Hungary's political parties to sign an anti-graft declaration, the organisation told MTI in a statement.... [read complete entry]
April 29, 2009, 09:47 CET
Another week, another dodgy Socialist real estate deal
The Central Investigation Chief Prosecutor's Office (Központi Nyomozó Főügyészség) has launched an inquiry into allegations of improper dealings involving the Socialist mayor of Dunaújváros, András Kálmán, index.hu writes, citing Magyar Nemzet. Kálmán, also a Socialist MP, is suspected of involvement... [read complete entry]
April 27, 2009, 07:41 CET
Socialists seek replacement for jailed Budapest assembly member
Hungary's governing Socialist party has found a replacement for a representative -- who is behind bars facing corruption charges -- in the Budapest city council's general assembly, the party's Budapest executive said on Saturday. The post needs to be filled... [read complete entry]
April 22, 2009, 09:34 CET
Tabloid probes "paranormal" details of Socialist MP's villa
The Hungarian Bureau of Investigation - aka Blikk - has happened on a story up in the northern town of Salgótarján that can only be described as paranormal. According to the tabloid, László Bodvai, a local (Socialist) MP, has... [read complete entry]
April 17, 2009, 10:35 CET
UK fraud office links Gripen corruption to Socialist Party
Britain's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has uncovered evidence that Austrian lobbyist Alfons Mensdorff-Pouilly corrupted procurement procedures in Hungary through the Socialist Party in connection with the procurement and upgrade of Gripen fighter jets manufactured by Sweden's Saab and British Aerospace,... [read complete entry]
April 16, 2009, 11:33 CET
Candidate for economy minister withdraws under fire
The candidate to head the economy ministry Tamas Vahl has withdrawn, Gyorgy Podolak, head of parliament's economy and information technology committee, said on Thursday.... [read complete entry]
April 10, 2009, 10:49 CET
Outgoing government approves anti-corruption bill
Hungary's outgoing Gyurcsany government approved anti-corruption measures at its last session, business daily Vilaggazdasag said on Friday.... [read complete entry]
March 20, 2009, 02:08 CET
Spoof Free Democrat campaign ads focus on corruption allegations
It was fairly recently that we commented on the Free Democrats' European Parliamentary election campaign ads, and how their ads may alienate some of the people they're trying to bring into the fold. As a way to while away... [read complete entry]
March 18, 2009, 11:25 CET
District VII property scandal "just the tip of the iceberg"
While former District VII mayor György Hunvald remains under preliminary arrest for his part in the property scandal that broke late last November, the case is "just the tip of the iceberg," reports Index.hu in a round-up of property fraud... [read complete entry]
March 13, 2009, 12:12 CET
Education Ministry official suspended over bribery allegation
Education Minister István Hiller on Thursday suspended Equal Opportunity Director Tímea Borovszky, due to possible crimes and dereliction of duty.... [read complete entry]
March 11, 2009, 09:26 CET
Police, local councils locus of Hungarian corruption, study finds
The largest number of corrupt employees work at local authorities and with the police, and the fewest in courts, according to a survey by the Sociology and Social Policy Institute of Budapest’s Corvinus University.... [read complete entry]
February 26, 2009, 01:51 CET
Politicians find one more way to show they're better than you
Rather unsurprisingly, many parliamentarians display "CD" (Corps Diplomatique) diplomatic stickers on their vehicles to grant themselves "diplomatic immunity" from the same traffic and parking laws the rest of us have to obey, blikk.hu revealed. The "CD" stickers can be placed... [read complete entry]
February 13, 2009, 10:16 CET
Fidesz mayor questioned as suspect in property fraud case
Mór's Fidesz mayor Péter Fenyves was questioned at Veszprém county police station on Thursday as a suspect in connection with the sale of land.... [read complete entry]
February 13, 2009, 08:43 CET
Five parties hold meeting on campaign finance reform
Hungary's five parliamentary parties on Thursday held a meeting on issues concerning reform of political campaign finance.... [read complete entry]
February 12, 2009, 09:30 CET
Joke magazine nets government funding for PR articles
Satirical magazine Hócipő reportedly received Ft 3 million (€10,000) from the government for publishing a single article celebrating the hundredth ever International Women's Day and a further Ft 4 million for a series of articles popularizing the government's secret services,... [read complete entry]
February 11, 2009, 09:48 CET
Former Smallholders' Party MP sentenced after eight year trial
Hungary's supreme court has sentenced former Smallholders' Party MP Béla Szabadi to a two-year suspended prison term. He was accused of abusing his power during his time in the Ministry of Agriculture run by József Torgyán.... [read complete entry]
February 10, 2009, 05:15 CET
Mayor of Budapest's District VII in custody for real estate fraud
The mayor of Budapest's downtown 7th district was taken into custody and interviewed on suspicion of real estate fraud, the head of the municipal attorney's office said on Tuesday.... [read complete entry]
February 06, 2009, 09:13 CET
Gov't to set up national anti-graft office, PM says
Hungary's government will set up a new national anti-corruption authority in the next few months, Hungary's Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany said on Thursday.... [read complete entry]
January 13, 2009, 12:56 CET
Corrupt city official in Kecskemét caught mid-bribe
Although there's the general assumption that once a person gets into a position of power in Hungary, they can be as corrupt as they want to be without having to the suffer the consequences, that's not always the case. Earlier... [read complete entry]
January 12, 2009, 08:27 CET
Daily accuses Prime Minister's Office of dishing out jobs to journalists
Several journalists received public money from the government last year again, writes Index.hu, based on a report in conservative daily Magyar Nemzet. The paper accused the Prime Minister's Office of giving mandates to journalists for tasks it could perform itself.... [read complete entry]
December 30, 2008, 11:52 CET
Hungarian NGOs quit government anti-corruption body
Transparency International, the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union and independent expert Péter Hack have quit the government's anti-corruption co-ordination board, saying that it has become irrelevant.... [read complete entry]
December 29, 2008, 10:24 CET
Orbán says gov't to use IMF loan to "buy votes"; urges thorough accounting
The disbursement of the loan the International Monetary Fund has recently granted to Hungary needs to be subjected to "thorough historical and theoretical scrutiny," Viktor Orban, head of the main opposition Fidesz said on Wednesday, suggesting that the funds drawn... [read complete entry]
December 23, 2008, 09:48 CET
Police probe electoral fraud in race for Budapest parliamentary seat
More than 2,200 fake candidate petition slips were discovered in Budapest's ninth district, where parliamentary constituency elections are due to be held on January 11 after former liberal opposition Free Democrat MP, Ferenc Gegesy, resigned his seat in September, the... [read complete entry]
December 18, 2008, 11:42 CET
Convicted mayor re-instated in village by-election
Zoltán Póczai, who had to step down as mayor of Sormás in September after being convicted of fraud and document forgery, has been re-elected to the post, writes Index.hu.... [read complete entry]
December 16, 2008, 09:32 CET
Roma leader declines to step down despite fraud investigation
Orbán Kolompár, chairman of the National Gypsy Government (OCÖ) currently investigated for embezzlement, will not resign for now, despite a growing number of Roma public figures urging this step, writes Magyar Hírlap.... [read complete entry]
December 15, 2008, 03:33 CET
More suspects named in Liberal party election fraud case
The number of SZDSZ politicians named by the Budapest Police as suspects in a document forgery case related to leadership elections for the Liberal party held last year has risen to seven, writes Fn.hu, based on a (print only) report... [read complete entry]
December 12, 2008, 08:24 CET
Politician linked to corruption case ends justice ministry contract
Péter Lusztig, whose links to the Justice Ministry have recently come under scrutiny, has asked that his contract not be extended beyond the end of this year, Népszabadság reports.... [read complete entry]
December 09, 2008, 08:50 CET
Head of official Roma authority charged with misuse of funds
Orban Kolompar, head of the National Gypsy Authority was charged on Monday by local prosecutors in the city of Kecskemet, central Hungary, with fund mismanagement, the county's deputy chief prosecutor told MTI.... [read complete entry]
December 01, 2008, 01:42 CET
Special foreigner-related Fidesz corruption quiz!
Since we've picked on the Liberals and besmirched the leader of the Socialists today on issues related to crime and corruption, it seems only fair to drag in Fidesz as well. The other night, a friend told us a bit... [read complete entry]
December 01, 2008, 12:43 CET
Can the Liberals now please stop pretending they are not as corrupt as everyone else?
Really. Unless the SZDSZ national leadership does something about this appalling (but sadly unsurprising) example of "rent seeking" on the local level, they deserve to be zeroed out of Parliament in the next election.... [read complete entry]
November 26, 2008, 12:57 CET
Report details murky world of official named in MP fraud case
Péter Lusztig, a former police chief allegedly involved in the Zuschlag corruption case, is being paid Ft 300,000 per month for "occasional advice" to the ministry of justice, writes Gondola.hu, a news portal considered sympathetic to the current opposition, based... [read complete entry]
November 25, 2008, 05:36 CET
Presidents appoints "council of elders" to tackle corruption, education woes
Hungary's President Laszlo Solyom said on Tuesday that he has set up a "Council of Elders" with four experts renowned in Hungary and abroad, to analyse plans for developing education and tackling corruption in the country.... [read complete entry]
November 19, 2008, 12:15 CET
Commissioner outlines plans for new anti-corruption team
Government commissioner Ferenc Kondorosi has told television station ATV that he plans to establish a team dedicated to the fight against corruption, writes Index.hu.... [read complete entry]
November 18, 2008, 12:06 CET
Police said to be implicated in MP corruption case
Former Socialist MP János Zuschlag said he was able to "contain the police" investigation into his alleged fraud through former Baranya police chief Péter Lusztig, according to a tapped telephone conversation with fellow defendant András Õri that was played in... [read complete entry]