Two main figures in gas mafia case remain in custody
The Budapest Metropolitan Court upheld the pre-trial detention of two company executives in a billion-forint VAT fraud case. The investigation involves 41 suspects, with the companies allegedly using fictitious invoicing to evade tax payments.
Two main figures in gas mafia case remain in custody
In a ruling handed down in mid-June, the Budapest Metropolitan Court upheld the pre-trial detention of two company executives accused of massive budget fraud. The prosecution had previously successfully appealed against a first-instance decision that had imposed less stringent coercive measures.
The police have been investigating a network of companies engaged in gas trading for more than a year, since summer 2024. The suspicion is that the companies, since autumn 2023, have deliberately reduced their VAT burden through coordinated, chain invoicing. According to the charge, they attempted to evade tax obligations from natural gas sales by concealing transactions with false operations: they allegedly posed as technical equipment traders, where goods were shown on paper as being passed on to EU partners.
Forty-one people have been questioned as suspects in the proceedings. Among the five principal accused are the two company executives, who face the most serious charge – budget fraud of exceptionally large value. The remaining thirty-six individuals are suspected of falsifying official documents. The two executives were taken into custody in January of last year and have been held since.
The investigators are concentrating not only on tracking down those responsible in Hungary, but are also examining foreign connections to recover the full amount of the damage.
Hungaro Energy Zrt., a Pécs-based company linked to the business network, processed annual turnover of fifty billion forints a few years ago, but the company was recently placed into liquidation.
Source: 444.hu
Source: Google News HU — Crime (hu)