The defense lawyer said he would not say his client was innocent, but argued that he should not be sentenced based on the current indictment. Should Kulcsár be sentenced, the lawyer asked that only symbolic punishment be given because of the time passed since the legal procedure began.
The scandal broke in the summer of 2003 with the arrest of Attila Kulcsár, on suspicion of embezzling, with his accomplices, as much as HUF 46 bln from clients, who included state-owned companies as well as private individuals, starting in 1998. Kulcsár was sentenced to eight years in prison in 2008 and several of his accomplices also got prison time.
However, in the course of an appeal of the ruling, a retrial was ordered after it was revealed that false testimony had been given in the case. Kulcsár was either in custody or under house arrest from 2003 till 2011, which counts as 4-5 years against any eventual prison sentence.
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