The President of the Integrity Authority has been interrogated as a suspect by the Central Chief Office of Investigation during the ongoing investigation into misappropriation of funds causing significant pecuniary loss and abuse of office. The investigation had been opened upon reported information. The suspect is defending himself without being arrested.
Today, the Central Chief Office of Investigation has carried out coordinated investigative measures in the case, which involved conducting successful searches and seizures at several premises, including the building of the Integrity Authority.
Afterwards, the Central Chief Office of Investigation interrogated the President of the Integrity Authority as a suspect.
Pursuant to the relevant provisions of law, the Integrity Authority is a central budgetary body, whose president is entitled to the same allowances as a minister. Accordingly, he is entitled, inter alia, to the personal use of an office vehicle. The Integrity Authority has rented the President a car of supreme quality for this purpose.
There is reasonable suspicion to believe that the President had another vehicle rented at the expenses of the Integrity Authority.
That car was also of supreme quality and was mostly used for private purposes by the President’s wife, who was not an employee of the authority and was therefore not entitled to use the vehicle.
According to the contract concluded in November 2022, the rental fee for this second car was 475,285 HUF + VAT.
By breaching the asset management rules, the President caused a pecuniary loss of nearly 14 million HUF to the Integrity Authority.
In addition, in order to prevent the other two members of the board (the vice presidents, who were selected by a call for application and were appointed by the President of the Republic) from exercising their legal rights, the President of the Integrity Authority unlawfully restricted some of their powers and simultaneously exercised his public authority arbitrarily.