The police have officially accused lawyer and Democratic Coalition MP candidate, Csaba Czeglédy, to be behind the publication of the stories and recordings that eventually led to the scandal resulting in the departure of former Győr mayor Zsolt Borkai (Fidesz) from politics. Czeglédy, however, denies his involvement.
As we previously reported, before the municipal elections in 2019, the blog “Devil’s Advocate” began to publish stories and later videos of a yacht trip of then Győr mayor Zsolt Borkai and some local businessmen, including casino concession owner and local lawyer, Zoltán Rákosfalvy, whose property businesses with car manufacturer giant Audi has been a matter of suspicion.
In the videos, Borkai and his companions can be seen in some unmistakable situations, while the blog also accused him of corruption (without proof). The rest is history: even though the former Olympic champion gymnast won the election for mayor, days after the ballot he handed in his resignation to completely disengage from politics.
Czeglédy was long thought to be involved in the case. As a matter of fact, the police eventually modified the charges against him over time: while previously he was suspected of being ‘only’ an accomplice, he is now suspected of being the actual perpetrator. According to the charges, Czeglédy, or someone he knew, created the account on Pornhub on which the recordings, made on a cruise on the Adriatic, were posted. It is important to note that there is a blackmailing aspect to the Borkai scandal, involving formerly well-known footballer József Póczik (who also has some connections to DK), but this case doesn’t deal with that thread.
Lawyer Czeglédy is actually one of the closest allies of DK leader and former PM Ferenc Gyurcsány. He has long been targeted by Fidesz, accused several times of fraud and corruption. He will also run in the opposition’s primaries to face centrist-green LMP’s Péter Ungár in the Szombathely district. Their contest is expected to be a tight one, for the winner to probably clash with former defense minister, Csaba Hende, in the general elections.
Czeglédy, however, denies involvement. “What happened today is reminiscent of the darkest times: the prosecutor’s office, in a borderline criminal manner, without any evidence, having ordered the investigating authority to inform me of their inability to prove that I had anything to do with the release of the tapes that exposed the Borkai family,” he said after he was informed of the charges. According to him, the timing of the accusation is not something accidental either, saying that Fidesz wants to use the prosecutor’s office to interfere in the opposition primaries.
In addition, Czeglédy suggested a national security thread behind Borkai’s bust. He claimed that according to his information, Constitution Protection Office workers could be behind the action in order to write off Zsolt Borkai and Zoltán Rákosfalvy.
On Wednesday, he also said that although he would be proud of it, he has nothing to do with the video.
The blog’s Facebook page also appeared to confirm Czeglédy’s denial with the post: “Fidesz-lackey Polt, you missed the mark,” after the charges were made public, referring to chief prosecutor, Péter Polt (a former Fidesz member, who often comes under criticism for allegedly playing according to the governing forces’ playbook).
And in a weird, new development, lawyer Péter Dániel acknowledged on his social media channel that the person behind “Devil’s Advocate” is actually he, himself, additionally stating that this was long known by authorities too.
At this point, it is difficult to say whether his words are serious or not, but he claims he sent all relevant documents both to the police and to Czeglédy. Later, under the original post in a comment he also said he was ready to meet Hungarian police and prosecution in Israel.
featured image: Csaba Czeglédy; via Zoltán Balogh/MTI
