Zoltán Varga court case: Prosecution seeks prison time over 280 million forint damages
Criminal proceedings against the owner of Central Media Group have entered the trial phase. The prosecution is seeking 2 years and 6 months imprisonment.
Owner of Central Media Group appears in court over Nógrád Chemical case
Zoltán Varga, owner of Central Media Group which publishes 24.hu, had his criminal case enter the trial phase – as Media1.hu reported in detail. According to the indictment, Varga and three other defendants, as members of the board of directors of Central-Fund Venture Capital Fund Management Plc, committed a breach of asset management duties that caused financial harm of nearly 280 million forints.
According to the prosecution, shares were sold below market value
The crux of the indictment: Varga's company successfully bid for a programme aimed at improving the capital position of micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises. The created "Capital Fund" – with 70 per cent state and 30 per cent private funding – acquired an investment in Nógrád Chemical Industry Plc.
When the chemical company reached the sales phase, according to the prosecution, the defendants did not conduct a company valuation. According to the prosecution's position, Varga presented a purchase offer in April 2020 in such a way as to emphasise that the chemical company's real value exceeded the amount stated in the offer. Nevertheless, 99 per cent of the company's shares were sold for 459.3 million forints instead of the true value of 737 million forints, causing financial harm of 277.7 million forints to the capital fund – according to the indictment.
No defendant admitted guilt at the preparatory hearing
The court held a preparatory hearing on 3 June 2026 in the case of the first and third defendants. In the event of admission and waiver of the right to trial, the prosecution requested a sentence of 2 years and 6 months imprisonment, 3 years disqualification from public office and 6 million forints in fines for the first defendant – Zoltán Varga. In the case of the third defendant, the prosecution requested 2 years imprisonment, 2 years disqualification from public office and 3 million forints in fines.
The prosecution also requested that Varga be banned for 3 years and the third defendant for 2 years from the positions of executive officer, supervisory board member or individual entrepreneur in managing organisations.
Since neither defendant admitted guilt and neither waived the right to trial, the court referred the case to trial. The court scheduled the next preparatory hearing for 23 September 2026 and the trial for 29 October 2026.
The defence considers the charges unfounded
At the request of Telex, Zoltán Varga's defence counsel, Dr Gábor Papp, made a statement. "He considers the charges against his client to be unfounded both legally and factually, and his client has already refuted the prosecution's claims at the preparatory hearing," the lawyer stated. Papp added that the two-and-a-half-year investigation says much about the fact that the prosecution proposed the questioning of witnesses who, according to the defence counsel's position, can substantiate the defendants' defence.
The buyer leads to a businessman connected to István Garancsi
Media1.hu previously reported that Varga sold Nógrád Chemical Industry Plc to Avogadro 2020 Project Kft., whose owner is Telek Csaba, a businessman closely connected to István Garancsi, known as Viktor Orbán's former prime minister's "rope friend".
Varga attempted to have an article about the sale removed through a lawyer's threatening letter in December 2020. After the publication asked him to identify which statement was false – the lawyer's letter did not contain any such claim – Varga eventually withdrew the deletion request. The article remained.
Central Media Group has grown to become one of Hungary's largest media companies
Central Media Group's portfolio includes 24.hu, Nők Lapja, nlc, Nosalty, Startlap, Story, Best and National Geographic magazine. Zoltán Varga has stated on several occasions in recent years that circles linked to Orbán have attempted to acquire the company from him.
Source: Google News HU — Crime (hu)