Police seize evidence at Foreign Ministry in ventilator case
The National Investigation Office has seized evidence at the Foreign Ministry relating to ventilator procurement deals during the coronavirus pandemic. The National Tax and Customs Administration is investigating suspicions of organised crime, budget fraud and money laundering.
NNI raid at Foreign Ministry: evidence seized in ventilator case
The National Investigation Office has seized evidence at the Foreign Ministry building during an investigation into ventilator procurement conducted during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to 444.hu. Foreign Minister Anita Orbán described the step as an "important development" on her Facebook page.
The National Tax and Customs Administration (NAV) is investigating the case on suspicion of organised crime, budget fraud and money laundering. According to the authority, the perpetrators laundered more than three billion forints in proceeds and evaded payment of 660 million forints in tax, thereby harming Hungarian taxpayers. The ventilators and medical masks were sold to state bodies during the pandemic, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade headed by Péter Szijjártó.
According to the NAV, a company formerly listed on the Budapest Stock Exchange stood at the head of the criminal organisation. They are seeking Bálint Májer, former chief executive of OTT-One, an IT company that became a supplier of medical equipment and may have been involved in ventilator deals worth several billion forints. According to 444.hu, Májer is currently operating a Ferris wheel in Bali.
An arrest warrant was issued against him last week. Following this, he wrote a letter to the NAV in which he promised to return to Hungary and participate in the proceedings against him – and said he would inform the authorities of the details of his return trip. In recent days, however, he gave a statement to an Indonesian newspaper about beaches and sunsets.
At the end of October, Győr District Court ordered the detention of two further suspects. One of them may have been involved in accounting for the company network, whilst the other is suspected of withdrawing criminal money in cash from a foreign company's bank account – the latter was the company's contact person with the Foreign Ministry.
The companies involved in the case may have caused a total loss of 15.6 billion forints to Hungarian taxpayers.
Source: Google News HU — Crime (hu)