The investigation committee established by the Capital Assembly for the so-called City Hall case began its work on Thursday, the board will first examine how the sale of real estate works at the capital's asset manager.

The chairman of the committee, Péter Kovács (Fidesz-KDNP) XVI. the district mayor announced at the beginning of the meeting that they received several thousand pages of documents on Wednesday and Thursday about the real estate sales since the October 2019 local government elections and what actions took place in the previously initiated procedures.

He announced that he had invited three non-City Hall employees "involved in the sale of the City Hall" to the committee meeting. Gyula Gansperger did not want to appear, the registered letter sent to former Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai was not accepted, so he wrote to him on his Facebook page.

So far, there has been no reaction to this, and no reaction has been received from Zsolt Berki, he said. Péter Kovács said regarding the utilization of the properties of the capital municipality in addition to the City Hall:

From the tables sent by Balázs J. Barcs, CEO of the Budapest Capital Asset Management Center Zrt. Gyula Gansperger bought the property at no.

In addition, six properties were sold from the list of 13 mentioned by the person wearing the Anonymus mask who appeared in the case with videos.

The buyer of the property at Szilassy út 3 is an Austrian company whose director is in pre-trial detention. The property at 62 Istenhegyi út is owned by a limited liability company. he bought it for HUF 202 million net, but is now selling it for HUF 540 million. The property at 69 Fáy utca was bought for HUF 109 million by a limited company whose manager and owner is a young lady born in 1989, whose place of residence is indicated as a farm in Kecskemét

- stated Péter Kovács, emphasizing that these real estate sales must be examined.

The members of the board then reviewed what happened in the case: the chairman of the committee reviewed in chronological order the videos, audio recordings and articles published in the case since the beginning of November, as well as the reactions of Mayor Gergely Karácsony and the city administration.

The essence of the case is that, according to the videos of the Anonymous masked man, the city administration is planning to sell the City Hall, the capital city government operates a commission system, he wanted to sell quite a few real estates in the capital through "under the grass" intermediaries, and he tried to support them with audio recordings. Gergely Karácsony and the city administration reacted to this: they will not sell the City Hall, the real estate will be sold through a public tender, and complaints were filed regarding the "slanderous audio recordings aimed at discrediting the city administration".

Péter Kovács said at the committee meeting that "the two positions (...) have come closer to each other in the case, but they are still far apart". On the one hand, "different things are claimed by identifiable persons" on the recordings, on the other hand, the city administration denies them, he added.

He emphasized that it is the committee's job to find out whether one of these statements is true, or whether the truth lies between the two, or "at all, how does this thing work?"

The committee's vice-chairman, Terézváros mayor Tamás Soproni (Momentum), stated that one of their tasks is to investigate the reality of the statements made in the recordings. On the other hand, the circumstances of its preparation and disclosure must be examined, especially with regard to the possibility of possible foreign interference in next year's parliamentary elections, he added.

He initiated an investigation into whether there is any indication - apart from Gyula Gansperger's statement - that Zsolt Berki is working together with Deputy Mayor Ambrus Kiss, and when and which properties Zsolt Berki has looked at for sale since 2015.

The mayor of Zugló, Csaba Horváth (MSZP), spoke about the fact that they cannot prove the authenticity of the audio recordings, it is a shared responsibility not to give any basis to the accusations. He initiated a review of the real estate sales tenders between 2019-2021 to see if they contain a condition indicating that they were issued individually. If this cannot be demonstrated, it will be a rebuttal to the commission system claim, he said. He also stated that, in the current state, there is no evidence that the city administration had any intention of selling.

Zsolt Láng, the leader of the Fidesz-KDNP faction in the capital, emphasized that all representatives from the capital are on the same side on the issue, and it is very important that the truth be revealed. Responding to Csaba Horváth's words, he said that they should not argue about whether there are "phantom men" in the recording, as the actors admitted that they are the ones speaking in the recordings. Zsolt Láng also spoke about the fact that the committee's options are limited, they cannot summon anyone on a mandatory basis.

Regarding Tamás Soproni's initiative, Zsolt Láng said that it would only be a distraction if they tried to investigate the possible influence of foreign secret services on next year's elections.

Sándor Szaniszló (DK) committee member, XVIII. according to the mayor of the district, it would be important to find out "who are these figures" who started their careers under the previous city administration and stayed here, what role they had in the past and have now.

After the meeting, Péter Kovács told journalists that the commission could not complete its work in the originally imposed two weeks. Zsolt Láng said that they want to listen to Gergely Karácsony and Balázs J. Barcs as well, they have an obligation to come, and he trusts that Gergely Karácsony will appear before the committee. At the same time, he called it strange and unusual that in the commission of inquiry, which is trying to clarify the accusation of corruption, the majority are those who are accused.

MTI

Featured image: magyarnemzet.hu