TI filed a complaint at the end of July, on suspicion of fraud to a particularly large amount. A similar complaint by the NGO in 2018 was rejected by the Central Chief Prosecution Office of Investigations (KNYF).

The residency bond programme, launched in autumn 2012 by Antal Rogan of Fidesz as head of parliament’s economic committee, allowed non-EU citizens to obtain Hungarian residency permits in exchange for investments of 250,000-300,000 euros.

The scheme was typically managed by offshore companies with unclear backgrounds, which, according to Transparency International’s calculations at the time, booked profits of 60 billion forints (EUR 165.6m) from public funds, while "the state lost money on the deal over the full term", 444.hu said.

The committee licensed eight intermediary companies to participate in the programme. By its abolition in 2017, they had sold 6,621 residency bonds. Including family members, 19,855 foreign citizens received Hungarian residency permits. Investors were required to hold the bonds for only five years, after which most of their money was returned.

The Government Debt Management Agency argued a few years ago that between 2013 and 2017, the state saved over 9.6 million euros by issuing the bonds rather than Premium Euro Hungarian Government Securities, 444.hu said.

Source: MTI – Hungary’s national news agency since 1881.

MTI Photo

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