The Magical Nokia-box - part 16

When did it turn out that the story of the Nokia-boxes is not more than a legend?

On October 9, 2012 the story took an unexpected turn: during his court hearing Zsolt Balogh unsaid his statements on the Nokia-boxes. He was called by Judge Ibolya Hadnagy to declare if he keeps his investigatory testimony. Balogh said that he keeps the one given before the court. About his significantly different investigatory testimony read out by the judge he said he had stated incriminatory things in it in order to meet the needs expressed by the prosecution and avoid prison: “I am not a hero. I did not want anything else just to go home.” Later, in March 2015 he completely withdrew the story of the Nokia-box and he apologized to Hagyó spending nine months in custody for his earlier false statements on him. Finally, the prosecution did drop the related investigation, admitting that the statements on the Nokia-box cannot be supported with evidence.

Why is it particularly significant that Balogh unsaid his testimony?

Because the whole Nokia-box scandal developed from his statements. Among others, this is how the story about the bribes delivered to Miklós Hagyó, former Deputy Lord Mayor, on several occasions by Balogh got around. The indictment of the BKV-case also based on these statements just like the two counts against Hagyó.

The Magical Nokia-box - part 3

What exploded the BKV-scandal?

 Let’s jump back until July 23, 2009 when BKV-scandal exploded in connection with the dismissal pay of Szalainé Szilágyi Eleonóra, former HR director. Hagyó, who was on vacation at that time, immediately ordered an investigation in this case. According to Magyar Nemzet daily BKV concluded unnecessary contracts and paid excessive dismissal pays. Now we are aware of the fact the BKK still concludes these kinds of contracts so far. Of course the press barely wright about this and nobody has been arrested accordingly. 

What did experts say about the necessity of the contracts?

 Nothing. The prosecutor’s office considered these contracts as unnecessary and surplus so incriminated them. The prosecutor’s office did not ask experts to write their opinion. The indictment declared as fact – without experts’ opinion – that BKV’s marketing activity was totally unnecessary as the company was in monopoly position. On top of all that it was Hagyó who pointed at the unprofessional argument of the prosecutor’s office during the court trial. He namely asked the question that “who has transport engineering, metropolis public transportation-logistics and communication or marketing skills in the prosecutor’s office so he can decide and establish such a serious declaration?”.

The Magical Nokia-box - part 2

How did the money jump into the Magic box?

Nokia box is magical because every time the money jumped into it in different ways. Firstly Balogh accused Synergon that the company paid royalty to Hagyó and he gave over the half of the 30 Million HUF bribe – of course in a Nokia box. However he stated to the press that the money was put together by managers of different companies which were close to BKV. It was not just the source of the money but the circumstances were also magically different. He took over once in a garage, in a car in another time and once he saw the content of the Box or who knows.

Then from where did the money come due to Balogh? 

One of the most magical characters of the Nokia box is that the money jumped into it every time in different ways. In his first interview to Magyar Nemzet daily on March 6, 2010 he said that BKV managers put together the money when they knew the time when Balogh delivers. This contradicts to his first testimony on February 24, 2010 when he confessed that the 2*15 Million HUF came from Synergon since the company allegedly paid royalty to Hagyó in order to win the software license tender.

The nokia box story is over

The BKV case continued in Kecskemét with the screening of the confrontation between Miklós Hagyó and Zsolt Balogh on September 14, 2010. Zsolt Balogh after the hearing said: he felt that he could only stay released if he says incriminatory about Miklós Hagyó. Hagyó never ordered him into any outlawry; respectively he never gave him any money.

Before the court viewed the record in closed circle, András Kádár, the lawyer of the former deputy lord mayor asked the resume of the verdict from the European Court of Human Rights from Strasbourg in the case between Hagyó and Hungary. 

Hagyó case: according to a former AAM coworker the analyses for the BKV were necessary- HVG article

A witness considered the analytical and the subway investment screening materials made by AAM Ltd. to BKV – who were associates during that time - useful and necessary on the Thursday hearing of the case against Miklós Hagyó former socialist deputy lord mayor and his associates at the Kecskemét Tribunal.





The AAM signed 3 contracts in 2007, during the time of the accusation with the BKV. In these contracts they undertook the assignment of screening the subway investment, supporting the coordinating tasks of the Subway line 4 project, and also the expert support of the highlighted projects of the transportation company. The witness - who was the leading consultant of the AAM Ltd. during the time of the accusation - firmly traversed those statements of the indictment which says that the company performed unnecessary services for the BKV Ltd.

BKV case: the consultancy wasn’t unnecessary

The BKV case’s new testimony also didn’t favor the accusation: it has been revealed that based on the consulting contract - the subject of the accusation - an outside company did a useful and important job for the transportation company regarding the Subway line 4 investment. 

The witness who requested his personal information’s closed handling and who was questioned on the hearing was working as the company’s leading consultant. The witness answered the questions about 3 contracts, including the consulting contracts related to Subway line 4, which was also discussed.



As he said, the company already worked for the BKV in 1996. He stated about the contract related to the subway that the person who was responsible for the investment contacted them about the company making a study regarding the situation of the project. 

The actual signing of the contract happened after the arrangements have been made with the former CEO of the BKV. There was a two week deadline for the first phase, so the fulfillments have been made before the signing of the contract and has been started right after the verbal agreement. 8-10 consultants worked on the assignment in 12-13 hours a day. The witness gave a detailed report about the work they’ve done. It has been revealed from his report that they’ve done a great amount of work in a short time.

„Homemade do it yourself” in the Hagyó case

The expert IT witness called, on the Thursday’s trial against Miklós Hagyó (who is the former deputy lord mayor) and his associates, a few elements of the passenger informant system at the local train between Batthyány and Békásmegyer which was constructed for 118 million forint.




According to the expert witness who was asked by the court the passenger informant system’s display was unsuitable for the function, the software of the system didn’t work as the calling for tender said.

Ibolya Hadnagy, the board leader judge is continuing the process of proof since the second day about the passenger informant system which was constructed by the C. C. Soft Ltd., and which according to the accusation made 118 million forints of damage for the BKV Ltd. 

Motivation to Stay Out of Hungarian Jails and the Judge’s Logic

Last Thursday’s Budapest Transit Company (BKV) hearing in Kecskemét, Hungary heard the testimony from the former BKV press officer Éva Horváth, who is the sixth defendant in the trial of 15 BKV associates.  The testimony from Horváth was a shocking recount of her experience in pretrial jail.

Horváth, who is accused of being an “instigator” in the misappropriation of BKV funds and causing financial damages to the public company which totaled 77,757,817 HUF (slightly more than $353,000.00 at the time of writing), claimed that she spent three months in Hungarian prison.  This statement sparks interest because there are no details of Horváth’s pretrial treatment listed in the indictment.

Thursday’s testimony from the former PR specialist was a shocking recount of enduring bigoted guards.  She claimed that because she is Jewish, she was subjected to weekly inspections of her cell when the inspectors would “pour garbage in the middle of her cell that included personal belongings and told [her]: ‘clean it up, Jew!’”  According to Horváth, guards also told her that if her rabbi continued to visit her they would not be able to help her from “falling out of her bed and hurting herself.”  The defendant also implied that the guards may have tried to drug her with the sedative Rivotril.  And if that wasn’t enough, she told of times when the temperature reached 130°F (59°C) in her 6×6 meter cell which housed four women.

Note to self: avoid Hungarian prison.

Horváth’s lawyer, Péter Bárándy, former minister of justice, proposed to Judge Ibolya Hadnagy the transfer of the case from the Kecskemét Tribunal to the city of Budapest.    Bárándy’s supported his proposal by referencing a December decision that some of the temporary provisions of the Hungarian constitution, dubbed the Foundational Law, were actually unconstitutional.  One of those rejected temporary provisions allowed for the case to be transferred from the courts in Budapest to Kecskemét in June 2012.

Judge Hadnagy rejected the proposal, however.  According to her, the prosecution’s appeal for a rejection of the proposal was more logical.  The case was not transferred because of the law, but in accordance with it – a law that was recently found to be unconstitutional.

Source: http://thehagyocase.wordpress.com/