The “criminal gang’s other tentacle” is companies that lobby local councils, Ákos Hadházy said. He handed the transcript to the press of an alleged recording of the mayor of Szekszárd, in southern Hungary, and his current advisor, a former Fidesz lawmaker.

Hadházy said that during the 2012 meeting of city representatives at which he was personally present, the mayor explained the workings of the “criminal gang”. Accordingly, when it came to distributing EU funds, a company offered the local council to organise all aspects of the project, including paperwork and the tender.

In exchange it would be appointed as the main contractor. He cited a project in Szekszárd to expand a kindergarten which was expected to cost 66 million forints but in the end the local council paid 130 million forints.

Hadházy promised that LMP would present similar cases every week from now on, adding there are enough cases to cover the next six months.

Opposition Democratic Coalition (DK) deputy leader László Varjú, at another press conference, insisted that people associated with ruling Fidesz were stealing EU funds intended to reveal corruption. He referred to an investigation by the EU’s Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), which he said showed that money received by Hungary for the fight against corruption had been stolen.

One of the company groups investigated by OLAF was the Quality Control Consortium, whose members included the law firm of a former deputy state secretary. Varjú said Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had betrayed Hungarians because “a deputy state secretary from Fidesz could steal money received for the fight against corruption and was not punished for it.”

Fidesz said in response that those who speak about corruption today used to run the most corrupt government of all time and had been responsible for stealing national assets as well as EU funds. Hungary has one of the most transparent systems for distributing EU funds and its procurements law is the strictest in Europe, the statement said.

Disappointed left-wing politicians are now lobbying in Brussels to get EU funding for Hungary suspended because the taps have been closed for them, the statement added.

Source www.hungarymatters.hu - Visit Hungary Matters to sign-up for MTI’s twice-daily newsletter.