The former Jobbik member of the European Parliament simply disappeared from the authorities, the press, and even his lawyers. Béla Kovács can be classified as a fugitive

The former member of the European Parliament from Jobbik, who was legally convicted of espionage against the European Union and of budget fraud at the expense of the Union, has been lost. Béla Kovács should have entered a penitentiary to begin his five-year sentence, but his prison summons could not be delivered. He will soon be classified as a fugitive, and then a Hungarian and then an international arrest warrant will be issued against him.

The Hungarian Nation's assessment of the situation was correct, when in September, after the final verdict, they wrote: according to the current situation, it can be concluded that Béla Kovács will not serve his five-year prison sentence in Hungary.

The paper found out that the prison service sent the summons to Kovács's hundred million villa in Pilisszentkereszt a month ago, but it came back to the sender without being able to deliver it to anyone.

The Magyar Nemzet was confirmed by several sources that Kovács was last seen in the hundred-million-dollar villa at the end of September 2020, but not since the first-instance verdict was announced.

KGBéla was acquitted of espionage in the first instance, but it was said that he was trained by a military intelligence officer working under diplomatic cover at the Russian embassy. His wife, who according to newspaper reports had "work ties" to the former Soviet secret service, the KGB, allegedly left last year. At that time, in his absence, Kovács was already convicted in the second degree, who was proven to have made preparations for espionage.

For many months, Kovács himself could be reached for the newspaper on Internet channels. They learned from him that he lives in Moscow, where he also underwent brain surgery and then contracted the Covid infection, from which he recovered. Finally, he started teaching at his former university, the Institute of International Relations, which was otherwise considered a "spy training". Back in 1986, Kovács obtained an international diploma in economics here, with advanced language exams in Japanese, English, and Russian, but he also speaks Polish, French, and German.

The last time Magyar Nemzet was able to contact him was in August, when he wrote: he will definitely come home to prove to the Court that he is not a spy and did not commit the crimes in the indictment. However, he has since been lost. He does not respond to our inquiries, but his lawyers do not know where he is at the moment.

Following the unsuccessful delivery of the prison summons, a procedure begins, at the end of which he is declared a fugitive. According to the regulations, the prison summons will be sent a second time to his address in Pilisszentreszt, which will be valid even if no one receives it again. After that, the next step is to issue the Hungarian arrest warrant, and with the involvement of the police's bounty hunters, they start looking for the former politician from Jobbik. It is expected that they will not find him at home, so an international arrest warrant will be issued against him, which Interpol member Russia will also receive, but Kovács is unlikely to be extradited there.

Not because he spied on their behalf, according to the final judgment, but on the grounds that neither espionage against the Union's institutions nor budget fraud committed to the detriment of the Union exists in Russian law. In addition, Kovács is also a Russian citizen.

In the meantime, the lawyers are expected to seek legal redress at the Constitutional Court: on the one hand, due to the encryption of the case in progress, and on the other hand, two EU documents, in which Kovács's innocence is confirmed.

Source: Hungarian Nation

Featured image: Tamás Kovács MTI