The first-instance verdict was found after 12 years in a case that was transferred four times, involving five judges.

Simon deposited Ft 240 million worth of foreign currency on an Austrian bank account a few months before the 2014 elections but he did not declare it in his assets statement.

He was accused of budget fraud, using false private documents and a public document falsification committed as an abettor.

The key witness in the investigation against him, Tamas Weisz, committed suicide in a police car a few weeks before the 2014 elections, while he was being taken for questioning.

The court on Wednesday acquitted Simon of the charge of budget fraud, but found him guilty of using a forged private document and fined him Ft 30 million. However, the court declared that the fine is considered paid for the time Simon served in custody.

The judge also ordered that the defendant’s bank cards be returned to him along with the Ft 120 million seized.

Simon told the court that his case points beyond a normal criminal case, as it was used by Fidesz for campaign purposes against the Socialist Party, its biggest challenger in 2014.

MTI Stock Photo - for illustrative purposes only
 

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