Fidesz MP Gyula Budai has pressed charges on suspicion of drug trafficking and money laundering following a leaked audio recording, which he says raises reasonable suspicion that opposition Párbeszéd politician Tímea Szabó’s campaign is being financed by drug money.
After pressing charges, Gyula Budai told Hungarian state news agency MTI that an audio recording surfaced in the media in which lawyer László Fischer tells an unknown person that the election campaign of Tímea Szabó, co-leader of the opposition Párbeszéd party and MP candidate for Budapest constituency no. 10, is using huge sums of money. (László Fischer is the business partner of the wife of Budapest’s 3rd district mayor from Democratic Coalition).
The governing Fidesz representative claims that the audio recording raises reasonable suspicion that Tímea Szabó’s campaign is being financed by money from illegal drug sales.
According to Budai, in the recording two men discuss drug shipments that arrive in Spain and after being sold, 300-400 million forints (EUR 800,000-1,070,000) should be brought to Hungary from Marbella on occasion, which would be used to finance Tímea Szabó’s election campaign.
Gyula Budai believes the audio recording also contains several references to the method used to bring the money to Hungary by circumventing the relevant legislation. He added that the recording repeatedly mentions the name of Gábor Patek, who had previously organized the pre-election campaign of Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony.
Pro-government TV channel HírTV asked the Párbeszéd politician about the leaked audio. Tímea Szabó firmly denied the allegations, claiming she doesn’t even know László Fischer.
(Sources: MTI, HírTV)
In the featured photo: Párbeszéd co-leader Tímea Szabó. Photo by Zsolt Szigetváry/MTI
