Lázár: Hungarian government vows to expose details of Alstom payments
The Hungarian government is expected to publish all of the information in the coming days related to payments made by French engineering firm Alstom, Hungary’s Cabinet Chief János Lázár said yesterday according to reports. Alstom is currently under investigation on corruption and conspiracy charges.
During his weekly press conference, the minister said that “Budapestʼs former municipal leaders and Socialist government had become mixed up in an international criminal matter, dragging the country along with them”, Hungarian news agency reported. Lázár said that the “details must be cleared up”.
The cabinet chief was commenting on a scandal raised by an article published in government-friendly daily Magyar Idők, claiming that the companies of former Prime Minister Péter Medgyessy received €597,000 from French engineering company Alstom for consulting services. Medgyessy said that the “predecessor” of his company did in fact receive the sum, but that there was nothing wrong with the deal.
Alstom signed a contract to deliver 44 trains for two of the capitalʼs metro lines ten years ago, after winning a tender with a bid of €247 million, MTI said.
Britainʼs Serious Fraud Office recently charged the UK head of Alstom with corruption and conspiracy in connection with train contracts for the Budapest metro. Four senior managers at Alstom are being investigated regarding a transfer of €2.3 million to Hungary that was allegedly used promote the sale of underground railway cars to Budapest in 2006 and 2007, according to reports.
MOL Shareholders Approve Dividend of Around HUF 250/Share
Gov't Awards HUF 6.5 bln of Subsidies to SMEs in Underdevelo...
LOT Seoul Flight Lands in Kazakhstan Due to Drunken Passenge...
Liz & Chain Rooftop Bar Debuts Sustainable Cocktails
SUPPORT THE BUDAPEST BUSINESS JOURNAL
Producing journalism that is worthy of the name is a costly business. For 27 years, the publishers, editors and reporters of the Budapest Business Journal have striven to bring you business news that works, information that you can trust, that is factual, accurate and presented without fear or favor.
Newspaper organizations across the globe have struggled to find a business model that allows them to continue to excel, without compromising their ability to perform. Most recently, some have experimented with the idea of involving their most important stakeholders, their readers.
We would like to offer that same opportunity to our readers. We would like to invite you to help us deliver the quality business journalism you require. Hit our Support the BBJ button and you can choose the how much and how often you send us your contributions.
