"Nothing is true about the accusations brought up against me," he insisted.Continue reading
Democratic Coalition’s presidency member who also runs in the opposition primaries is under attack for her links to an offshore company. After the National Primary Election Office turned down the case at first, MSZP-Párbeszéd appealed and wants her withdrawal.
The case has been brought to light by conservative, government-critical outlet Válasz Online. While putting together a list of the running MPs for the primaries, a journalist stumbled upon a car-wash in Judit Földi Rácz’s CV with a yearly turnover of as much as HUF 2.5 billion (EUR 7 million). He soon found out that the establishment officially belongs to a Delaware (an offshore haven in the US) company, called Minos King Global Business LLC.
But the opposition candidates had to sign a so-called declaration of integrity, including a clause to this effect. And the DK candidate firmly declared on July 26, 2021 that neither she nor her family owned any offshore companies. It soon turned out too that the ownership of that car wash had been changed that very day.
Rácz, however, first categorically denied her involvement, threatening Válasz Online with legal procedures. The only problem was that although the aforementioned Minos King Global Business LLC. had disappeared from the Hungarian registry, Válasz Online still found it in the official Slovakian company registry, and reported that the name of the DK candidate was still listed as the company’s representative.
After awhile, she began to admit her involvement but insisted that she has only been a representative of the firm. To prove this, she even presented a document signed by a public notary, without revealing who the real owner is ever since.
Meanwhile, her party was also backing her and even confronted Gergely Karácsony (MSZP-Párbeszéd’s PM candidate), when he criticized Rácz and DK for not having her step down.
After MSZP-Párbeszéd’s denunciation, the National Primary Election Office (OEVB) also put the issue on the agenda. Both Jobbik and DK have prevented any further action in the committee (while LMP and Momentum’s representatives abstained at the vote). However, the case won’t end here, as a second instance procedure will come after MSZP-Párbeszéd’s appeal (where the Momentum president said they would vote against Rácz). And in latest news, a formal police report has also been filed.
Besides a number of questions yet to be answered, MSZP and Párbeszéd are still adamant about Rácz’s departure from the primaries. Anyhow, the political side of the case could be settled as early as tonight, as OEVB promised the first results of the primaries to soon be made public.
featured image via Judit Földi Rácz- Facebook