He ran into a hole: Hadházy wanted to expose Fidesz's theft, but reality came face to face

They really stole HUF 588 million, but it doesn't matter who.

Parliament member Ákos Hadházy recently drew attention to the fact that a hotel in Marcali received HUF 588 million. Now we tried to wind up the threads, which started from the time of the socialist government. We also asked the accused Péter Zentai and Fidesz member of parliament József Móring about what sources the hotel got and exactly when, and what basis in reality Ákos Hadházy's words have.

Another cursed hotel, this time in Marcali, which received "only" 588 million taxpayer forints - this is how parliamentarian Ákos Hadházy began his report in the past few days, according to which the money was given to a Russian billionaire and his friend, Péter Zentai. "In 2020, Fidesz's local petty king József Móring boasted on Facebook that the ministry would pay for the investment, and in 2021, that the government would give 588 million to investors over the next three years, and by the spring of 2024, people could be flocking to Marcali to wellness." But Ákos Hadházy also highlighted:

THERE IS NO TRACE OF EU MONEY IN THE REGISTRY, AND THE THOUSANDS OF GOVERNMENT ORDERS HAVE NOT BEEN BROWSED.

Nevertheless, according to him, three things could have happened with the money: either it was stolen or it was not paid, "it was all fake, or it was paid, but it ran out". In his second post, he made a video recording of the "ghost hotel": "the half a billion forints of taxpayers' money seems to have disappeared again," he said. Index contacted Péter Zentai, the owner of the Hilaris hotel, who explained his position in detail.

The money was stolen, but it doesn't matter who

"The opposite of what Ákos Hadházy said happened. We bought the rights related to the property from Ferrobeton, a Hungarian company that participated in the construction of the property between 2004 and 2007."

Péter Zentai began his report. He explained that the businesses previously working in the area were not paid.

During the socialist government, a business circle lobbied for more than HUF 500 million in support, as Ákos Hadházy writes. This business circle belonged to Tamas Suchman, and in his capacity as a minister, the Balaton developments belonged to him. The socialist politician even joked to me that if he goes on vacation to Croatia, he doesn't have to leave his own land starting from Lake Balaton. This perfectly shows the power they had

- said Péter Zentai, according to whom this former economic interest group did not pay anyone, and even the EU money that Hadházy is talking about was not paid back. "Neither the contractors nor the state subsidies were repaid. The representative stated well that Tamás Suchman's business circle stole that money. They simply abandoned the project, but pocketed the money.”

The "ghost hotel" - if that's how Ákos Hadházy likes it, but we'll come back to that later - came to Ferrobeton in such a way that they had a legitimate claim to the project due to the material and labor fees due to their outstanding claims. Because Tamás Suchman's circle did not pay them either.

Tamás Suchman was a member of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party (MSZMP) led by János Kádár between 1983 and 1989, and then he was one of the founders of the Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP). From 1990, he was a representative and councilor of the municipality of Marcali. He was a member of parliament between 1990 and 2010. He was a minister twice: between March 1995 and September 1996 he was Hungary's minister without portfolio responsible for privatization, and in September and October 1996 he was minister of industry and trade. In a long interview with our newspaper, he talked about his serious illness in 2016. He died in May 2023.

PÉTERÉK ZENTAI COULD HAVE BUYED THE PROPERTY ITSELF, BUT THEY PREFERED TO PURCHASE TWO COMPANIES RELATED TO THE PROJECT.

"These companies had debts due to Tamás Suchman. I didn't buy real estate, but the company on whose behalf the state and EU subsidies were previously taken. I undertook to repay the stolen money, to pay the contractors who could prove their claims. But I also reimbursed Ferrobeton's legitimate claim and the tax debt owed to the municipality. This was in the order of HUF 1.2 billion in total," Péter Zentai summarized for Index, then added:

They stole money from Hungarian businesses and the European Union, I paid them back with interest, and I can prove this with a transfer receipt. Ákos Hadházy is right, the money was stolen, but not by us, but by Tamás Suchman and his circle.

After the acquisition, three design offices worked on the hotel, which will be called the Atlantis Grand Hotel from 2027 and will belong to the Hilaris Hotels hotel chain. So within three years, the hotel in Marcal, which Ákos Hadházy calls only a "ghost hotel", will be operational.

"Construction had to be stopped due to increased construction prices due to the pandemic and the war. However, I would like to emphasize: nobody has anything to do with what and when I build on my own plot." Péter Zentai also stated:

ÁKOS HADHÁZY DOESN'T FIND UNION AND GOVERNMENT SUPPORT BECAUSE TAMÁS SUCHMAN PARTICIPATED IN IT LONG BEFORE 2010.

In conclusion, Péter Zentai noted: the security service is constantly working in the area, and in their report the action of Ákos Hadházy was recorded in detail. He underlined that the member of parliament documented it himself: he entered private property and took the recordings inside a fence.

In his posts, Mr. Hadházy exhausted the concepts of incitement and intentional hatred, as well as defamation, defamation and damage to reputation. As described earlier, his claims do not correspond to reality. We are considering criminal consequences for this process. Burglary is prohibited in all European countries, and he entered private property without permission. Although Ákos Hadházy has the right to immunity, entering an area without asking anyone and trampling or destroying the fence is a crime

- said Péter Zentai, who remains committed to opening the doors of the 120-room Atlantis Grand Hotel in 2027 as part of the Hilaris Hotels chain.

The representative of the area does not know about state support either

"In 2020, Fidesz local petty king József Móring bragged on Facebook that the ministry would pay for the investment," Ákos Hadházy wrote in his post. The Index has now also contacted parliament member József Móring, who stated above all that

ÁKOS HADHÁZY HAS TRIED TO CLIMB THE FENCE BEFORE.

However, all he could say about the investment was that this project was really started by Tamásék Suchman and a circle of Israeli entrepreneurs.

No one was paid, and the municipality had money in it. Then Péter Zentai bought it and paid the debts. There was indeed an announcement in 2020, but then came the pandemic and a war in Europe.

To our question whether the Péter Zentai family received half a billion forints in the past period, as Ákos Hadházy claims - either state or EU funds - the member of parliament answered that they did not. "There were opportunities and attempts to do this, I do not deny that, but in the end they did not materialize. They did not receive a single forint subsidy, but they paid back what the socialists stole," said József Móring.

Index

Featured image: Ákos Hadházy's Facebook page