The case concerns 800 ventilators and 3 million medical masks imported from China and supplied to the Hungarian state for HUF 15.6 bln in 2020.
Authorities questioned 11 suspects and took two into custody during the operation early Tuesday. One person was arrested in Austria with assistance from local authorities. An international arrest warrant was issued for an alleged leader of the ring believed to be living in Indonesia.
Prime Minister Péter Magyar said in a Facebook post that the raids targeted companies that had done “business with Péter Szijjártó’s ministry,” referring to the former foreign minister.
Health Minister Zsolt Hegedűs also acknowledged the operation on Facebook.
“In healthcare, every forint needs to serve the interest of patients,” he wrote.
Producing journalism that is worthy of the name is a costly business. For over 30 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.
