The matter was reported by the portal of the weekly “HVG”. According to Hungarian media Gyula Balasy's company is currently unable to settle its financial obligations because its bank accounts remain blocked. In this situation, the entrepreneur asked the authorities for help.
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The problems of oligarch Orban
The list of subcontractors to whom Balasa is unable to pay their dues includes partners responsible for the setting of the final of the competition. The performance of British DJ Sigala, who is to be the main attraction of Saturday evening, remains uncertain. The oligarch's company does not have the funds to cover, among others: costs of audiovisual equipment needed for the concert.
The authorities in Budapest do not rule out intervention. As reported by Daily News Hungary, the Hungarian government admitted that There are ongoing talks about a possible takeover of Balasy's companies by the state. The entrepreneur himself had already proposed to transfer his companies and part of his investments to the state free of charge.
Money laundering investigation
The prosecutor's office blocked the businessman's assets and accounts in early May. The reason was proceedings regarding suspicions of misappropriation of funds and money laundering. It was this decision that paralyzed the activities of his enterprises and made it impossible to settle accounts with contractors involved in organizing a sports event.
Companies controlled by Balasy were behind the preparation of Viktor Orban's anti-Ukrainian election campaign. The campaign portrayed the vote as a choice between war and peace. The same companies were also responsible for previous promotional activities targeting immigrants, and in recent years they have won hundreds of orders from state institutions.
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Billions of dollars in profits from state contracts
The scale of the businessman's connections with public administration was described by the portal 444.hu. According to this source since 2016, Balasy won all state telecommunications tenders, and at the same time handled public relations for state-owned companies. The website also pointed out that the oligarch was most likely behind the organization of every official government event.
In the past decade, approximately 450 billion forints, or over EUR 1.25 billion, passed through the businessman's enterprises – most of the orders went to subcontractors. Balasy himself was supposed to earn between 44 and 50 billion forints from this activity.
