Head of Hungary’s anti-corruption Integrity Authority questioned for more crimes
The central investigative prosecutor’s office (KNYF) has questioned Ferenc Pál Bíró, the head of the Integrity Authority, on suspicion of further crimes, the KNYF said on Thursday. On top of earlier charges of abuse of office, Bíró is now suspected of having embezzled 87 million forints (EUR 217,000), KNYF said in a statement.
Bíró is believed to have hired a foreign company to set up and run a representative office for the Integrity Authority in Brussels, whereas his organisation was not authorised to have a foreign representation, the statement said, adding that the foreign contractor had received a sum equal to 17 million forints.
Furthermore, Bíró signed two more contracts with the same company in April last year, one for the provision of consultancy services, and the other for lobbying activities not related to the authority’s profile, the statement said. So far, the contractor has received a total 45 million forints under the two agreements, KNYF said.
The prosecutor’s office also established that Bíró had employed a friend and paid him a monthly 2 million forints to contribute to the curriculum of a planned Integrity Academy, the activities of which were not connected to his authority.
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