The Debrecen Regional Investigation Prosecutor’s Office has prosecuted 18 people, including four tax officials, at the Debrecen General Court for abuse of office, prosecuted for accepting commercial bribery, and other crimes, the prosecution told MTI on Friday.
According to the indictment, a government official worked as a subordinate in a department of the tax authority and his job was to handle enforcement cases and record enforcement actions, the Central Investigating Prosecutor’s Office wrote.
Prior to October 2018, the government officially established a good relationship with entrepreneurs who had been involved in various tax proceedings for a long time in person or through their company.
The middle-aged man provided information and data to entrepreneurs within his circle of acquaintances in order to maintain trust and contact that giving the impression that he was responsible for avoiding any adverse legal consequences.
In addition, he reviewed the data of the taxpayers in the system several times, even without a separate request, undertook to settle the given case out of turn, and helped to fill in the applications and forms properly, thus avoiding the loss of time due to filling in the gaps.
According to the document, the government official also occasionally involved three of his colleagues in a relationship of trust with him, who were actively involved in settling cases or disclosing data from official records.
In return for the illegal official assistance, the government official regularly applied for an undue advantage, which did not result in a spectacular increase in wealth but significantly facilitated daily living, such as a mobile phone, a dinner invitation, and various high-value meat products in return for the administration.
In the case, the regional investigating prosecutor’s office filed charges against four tax officials and fourteen contractors.
In his indictment, the prosecutor’s office filed a motion to impose a custodial sentence and a fine on a government official and confiscate property to the extent of unlawful enrichment, and a temporary ban on all government officials from holding public office.
MTI
