According to the allegations, Zsolt Borkai informed local, influential lawyer and his ally, Zoltán Rákosfalvy, about Audi's plan for extending its plant with plans to buy up several lands in the area.Continue reading
The Chief Prosecutor’s Office has filed charges against six people in connection with the recording and blackmailing in the sex scandal of Győr’s former Fidesz mayor Zsolt Borkai and his business associates. The woman who actually made the tapes that eventually led to the resignation of the former Olympic champion gymnast may only face a fine.
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. 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.
While the police swiftly closed the (according to critics, half-hearted) investigation into the corruption allegations, this is apparently not the case in regard to the circumstances of the recordings and their publication.
Earlier, the police accused Csaba Czeglédy to be behind the “Devil’s Advocate” blog and by extension behind the publication, although the lawyer and opposition Democratic Coalition politician denies any involvement.
This latest move by the police concerns the actual recording and potential blackmail. Six people in total have been accused by the authorities. According to the indictment, one of the women who made the recordings in May 2018, was asked to do so by her friend and her friend’s husband (in order to later blackmail the victims), and in exchange she was promised HUF 100,000 (EUR 269).
The woman forwarded the recordings. Three of the defendants eventually took part in the extortion. In March 2019, one of them visited one of the victims and asked for HUF 12 million for them not to publish the video; however, the victim offered HUF 10 million forints (EUR 2,694), which was eventually put together by the other participants of the trip.
A few days later, one of the victims handed over the money which then reached the principal party. However, the fourth defendant further blackmailed the victims, demanding an additional 10 million forints, which they refused to pay.
The Chief Prosecutor’s Office proposes a fine for the woman who made the videos, and a prison term and fine for her five accomplices, who are also accused of extortion.
featured image: Zsolt Borkai in 2019; via Csaba Krizsán/MTI