A witness gave a detailed testimony about how the capital, led by Gergely Karácsony, tried to find a buyer for the City Hall with the cooperation of Zsolt Berki. The property was initially offered to American and Israeli investors for HUF 40 billion plus a 10 percent "commission".
Although Mayor Gergely Karácsony and the left-wing city administration constantly deny that they wanted to sell the City Hall, it seems that the ongoing police investigation into the case supports the exact opposite. - can be read in Magyar Nemzet.
On January 25, the National Investigation Agency (NNI) questioned the person through whom Zsolt Berki offered the City Hall to American investors. The person requested that his data be kept private, so he was only referred to as witness number 1.
The memorable name of Zsolt Berki became known after the Városháza-gate explosion. In the recent period, the audio recordings made public by Anonymus revealed that a well-defined circle in the capital operates a commission system, i.e. a corruption system. Zsolt Berki is also a member of this circle, who essentially collected the bribes requested after real estate sales in the capital and distributed them to the respective potentates.
As can be read, according to the interrogation protocol obtained by the Mediaworks News Center, witness number 1 stated that he discussed the sale three times with Berki, whom he has known for three years and who regularly sent him e-mails about properties for sale in the capital.
In response to the investigators' question, witness number 1 said: at the first meeting - which took place in the spring of 2021 in the Westend office building - another person besides Zsolt Berki was present, but nothing specific was discussed. Berki only assured him that the City Hall was indeed for sale, and at the same time inquired whether the Americans would be interested in the business.
By the way, the witness took Berki's word because he had previously "heard of a completed deal" in which he assisted, and also knew that the man had influence at the capital's asset manager.
Zsolt Berki came to the second meeting with City Hall documentation and indicated that he "will send an assignment contract that proves that he is authorized to act in these transactions."
In connection with the third meeting, the witness stated that in addition to himself and Zsolt Berki, a representative of an Israeli investment company was also present at the meeting. At that time, it was already mentioned that the price of the City Hall would be 40 billion forints, and the "commission" would be 10 percent, which the witness and the representative of the Israeli side were concerned about.
At the third meeting, "we told Zsolt Berki that we would also like to negotiate with his client. He said that if we are seriously interested in the business, we will have to negotiate with Deputy Mayor Kata Tüttő, but he did not give specifics," said witness number 1 in his testimony. He added that after the third meeting, Berki sent him a draft contract that included the purchase price and the commission. The former amount changed to "thirty", while the latter, i.e. the "commission", remained at 10 percent.
Kata Tüttő MSZP deputy mayor. Should we have negotiated with him about the City Hall? (Photo: MTI/Zoltán Balogh )
about this in detail in Magyar Nemzet .
Featured image source: PestiSrácok
