No suspect questioned in Mészáros company railway corruption case for two and a half years
The Budapest Police Headquarters (BRFK) has launched an investigation into the GSM-R2 railway development by R-KORD Kft., but has not questioned any suspect since then. According to police, the investigation is ongoing.
Investigation ongoing, but without a suspect – two and a half years on
According to hang.hu's information, the Budapest Police Headquarters (BRFK) has been investigating a suspected corruption case related to Hungarian railway IT development for more than two and a half years, yet during this time they have not questioned a single suspect.
The so-called GSM-R2 development aimed to create a modern IT network based on optical cables and mobile relay towers on the MÁV's main lines – thereby increasing train speeds and passenger safety. The public procurement announced in 2018 was won by R-KORD Kft. – the company of Lőrinc Mészáros – in a consortium with i-Cell Mobilsoft Zrt. The original value of the implementation contract was 58.85 billion forints, and the investment was to be completed by 2023 at the latest, aligned with the 2014–2021 EU budget cycle.
The project was ultimately completed late and with a narrower technical scope than originally planned. On 6 February 2023, the government increased the contract value by 17 billion forints in a non-public resolution and withdrew the investment from the Integrated Transport Development Operational Programme (IKOP), thus financing it entirely from the Hungarian budget. The decision was based on the fact that the consortium was clearly unable to meet the deadline – Szabad Európa revealed in several articles irregularities related to R-KORD's railway investments, including that the company failed to pay numerous subcontractors on time, and that serious quality objections had been raised on the MÁV's part. Among the latter was the notorious "reinforced concrete" case, in which ultimately only the "reinforcement" was removed.
In 2024, hang.hu reported that the investment concluded under suspicious circumstances suggesting corruption. Following this, Ágnes Vadai, then DK representative, turned to Chief Prosecutor Péter Polt with a written question on 14 May 2024, who forwarded it as a report to the Central Investigation Prosecutor's Office – which in turn ordered the BRFK to initiate an investigation.
From professional sources, the editorial team learned that house searches and document seizures took place in the case, though this was not officially confirmed. The BRFK's press office stated in response: "the investigation is ongoing, no suspect questioning has taken place." The police added: "in this matter the police have questioned witnesses, requested documents and gathered information, however, we do not wish to provide information about specific investigative measures in view of the interests of the investigation."
Source: Google News HU — Crime (hu)