Fidesz politicians expect former socialist leaders to account for the money they got from French engineering company Alstom, which was charged with corruption in connection with the train contracts for the Budapest metro.
A company owned by the family of former socialist Prime Minister, Peter Medgyessy, received more than 597.000 euros from French engineering company Alstom in 2007 and 2008, daily newspaper Magyar Idok said on Tuesday. According to the newspaper Alstom – recently charged in the UK with corruption and conspiracy in connection with train contracts for the Budapest metro – transferred 259.000 euros in consulting fees on the basis of a contract with AssistConsult, indirectly owned by Medgyessy and his wife, on March 30, 2007, and another 338.000 euros on January 22, 2008.
Medgyessy confirmed to news portal Index.hu on Tuesday that his ”company’s successor had a consulting contract with Alstom”. He said the money transferred to his company constituted revenue after which the firm had paid taxes.
On Wednesday Magyar Idok claimed – based on police sources – that the majority of the 597.000 euros ended up on the bank account of Medgyessy's wife, Csaplar Katalin, labeled as ”birthday present”.
Mate Kocsis, Budapest leader of Hungary’s ruling party Fidesz on Wednesday called on the previous left wing leaders of Budapest to tell where the Alstom money disappeared and to give it back to the people of Budapest. Lajos Kosa, parliamentary group leader of Fidesz also said that the economic committee of the parliament should discuss the Alstom case.
