Budai said on a  press conference that the obligation appears in a secret clause of the contract on the privatisation of the right to operate the airport.

Accordingly, he added, the state would have to compensate Budapest Airport’s majority owner Hochtief for 97% of a €1.5 billion loan, a further Ft 60 billion for the shares of the airport operator, Ft 390 billion for the 75-year right to manage the airport and Ft 15 billion for equipment.

Other sources said the state might have obligations to Hochtief’s creditor banks rather than directly to the German company.

Budai said he will complete a report to the police on the matter, as the privatisation contract did not serve Hungary’s interests.

Abuse of official position and negligence might be uncovered, Budai argued, saying it is impossible that former prime minister Ferenc Gyurcsany and former finance minister Janos Veres were not aware of the clause in the contract.

He also recommended that a parliamentary committee be formed to investigate the privatisation of the airport operating rights.

“If there was a secret clause in the privatisation contract, why has the government informed the public about it only after the fall of Malev?” Gyurcsany asked. He said he was not aware of any secret clause.

“Budai may have added up assets and liabilities to come up with the Ft 1 trillion figure, which is double the privatisation price,” former finance minister Peter Oszko wrote on his blog.

In addition, the state’s contractual duty arises in the event of the bankruptcy of Budapest Airport, not Malev, Oszko points out.

He said Budai had unilaterally acknowledged that the state has a duty to pay without examining whether this is true or not. Oszko questioned Budai’s motives.

Veres also said that Budai was encouraging Hochtief to file a claim for the larger amount quoted by him."

Source: Hungary Around the Clock

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