2-billion-forint budget fraud: complaint filed over Beloiannisz ship and Fonyód Sport Hotel case
The Ministry of Economy and Energy has filed a complaint regarding two investments where a total of 2 billion forints in public funds were disbursed without results.
Two-billion-forint public funds disappeared in two incomplete investments
The Ministry of Economy and Energy (GEM) has filed a complaint against unknown perpetrators on suspicion of budget fraud causing particularly large financial damage and breach of trust, the ministry announced. According to reporting by hvg.hu, the case was triggered when István Kapitány and his colleagues reviewed documents inherited from the Orbán government and found a total of 2.3 billion forints in problematically awarded subsidies at two investment projects, of which 2 billion forints had already been disbursed.
The first case concerns the Beloiannisz ship, built in 1952. In 2021, the Ministry of Innovation and Technology awarded one billion forints to a foundation for the renovation of the Lake Balaton vessel; the foundation undertook to use the passenger ship for educational purposes upon completion of the work. The full amount was transferred in advance in May 2022, but the renovation has not been completed since. The venue for the planned training programmes was changed several times, yet there is no evidence in the documents that the programmes were actually implemented. The foundation failed to fulfil its obligations regarding proper use of the subsidy and accounting for it.
The second investment is the energy modernisation of the Fonyód Sport Hotel. In 2016, the Kis-Balatoni Berek Hunting Association applied for 1.3 billion forints in subsidy for the project, then changed its name to Pelso Civic Sports Association – whilst according to the ministry's statement, no documents prove their actual nature as a sports organisation. The association received one billion forints, but the work has not been completed despite the 2019 deadline. According to the latest progress report, the project is currently 25 per cent complete, and would require a further two to four years to finish.
According to GEM's statement, the contractor "clearly ceased all meaningful activity", yet the association using the subsidy neither imposed a penalty nor terminated the contract – instead, it increased the contractor's fee.
"The Ministry of Economy and Energy leaves the investigation of the circumstances and legality of fund use to the investigating authorities," the ministry concluded in its statement.
Source: Google News HU — Crime (hu)