With its decision on Thursday, the Szeged Regional Investigative Prosecutor's Office - within the legal deadline - rejected Klára Dobrev's report for abuse of office, fraud and other crimes against the President of the Republic Tamás Sulyok, the Central Investigative Prosecutor's Office (KNYF) told MTI.
They wrote that, according to Klára Dobrev's complaint, President Tamás Sulyok illegally took his salary as a constitutional judge in the period between 2014 and 2019, because he did not declare his conflict of interest. According to the whistleblower, Tamás Sulyok committed fraud and abuse of office with this behavior, they added.
According to the data available to the investigative prosecutor's office, in response to Klára Dobrev's complaint, Tamás Sulyok requested the suspension of his legal activities after his nomination as constitutional judge, but before his election. The Szeged Bar Association took note of the decision made on September 24, 2014, that Tamás Sulyok will suspend his practice as a lawyer for an indefinite period of time, while maintaining his membership of the bar, and provided a substitute lawyer for the duration of the suspension, they added.
Tamás Sulyok stated again in 2019, at the request of the chamber, that he would continue to suspend his legal activities due to his profession as a constitutional judge. The national register of lawyers maintained by the Hungarian Bar Association has been in operation since January 1, 2018, therefore it does not include the 2014 decision, so the date of the 2019 declaration was used as the date of the suspension.
From the beginning of the suspension of legal activity, the obligations and rights assumed by Tamás Sulyok as a lawyer were exercised by the substitute lawyer. In relation to the companies mentioned in the report, Tamás Sulyok undertook the delivery agent activity as a lawyer, before his nomination as a constitutional judge, and after the suspension of the lawyer's activity, his deputy was entitled to act based on these contracts, it was explained.
The public prosecutor's announcement points out that according to the company court data, which can be viewed by anyone, the lawyer replacing Tamás Sulyok announced to the company court with regard to both companies that although the contract was still signed by Tamás Sulyok as a lawyer, he will perform these tasks instead of him during the suspension of his legal activities. .
By the way, the address of the delivery agent was the address of the law firm, so only his deputy, not Tamás Sulyok, was entitled and obliged to receive the delivered documents. According to the available data, after his election as a constitutional judge, Tamás Sulyok did not receive remuneration from his activities as a lawyer - and thus as a delivery agent - the KNYF statement emphasized.
Since Tamás Sulyok did not act as a lawyer as a constitutional judge, nor did he act as a delivery agent, he legally received his constitutional court allowances during his service as a constitutional judge, thereby committing neither fraud nor abuse of office, they stated in their statement.
Actions that may arise in connection with the conclusion of contracts involving the agricultural land affected in Klára Dobrev's petition cannot be investigated in the framework of the investigation due to the statute of limitations. In addition to rejecting the report, the public interest protection branch of the prosecutor's office is investigating whether it is necessary or possible to take private law measures in this matter, the announcement states.
MTI
Front page photo: Klára Dobrev, MEP representative of the Democratic Coalition (DK), leader of the European Parliament list of the DK-MSZP-Párbeszéd, gives a speech at the joint campaign event of the DK-MSZP-Párbeszéd in Ajka on May 10, 2024.
MTI/Tamás Vasvári
