"I hope Terezvaros's law enforcement authorities will start investigating"

Zoltan Illes, head of Fidesz's Terezvaros branch, and a professor in the environmental protection department at the Central European University, has brought a private prosecution against Terezvaros district council. Illes and his partner in the private prosecution, Zsofia Hassay, said at a joint press conference that "there are much more suspect property transactions in the sixth district than in the seventh district, and there is a suspicion that there was an attempt to cover this up." We asked Zoltan Illes for his opinion of the affair.

hvg.hu: But why didn't opposition councillors attempt to stop these transactions?

I.Z.: We did what we could. Fidesz and the Christian Democrats have nine votes on Terezvaros's 25-member council. The Socialists and the Free Democrats are in the majority. Between 2002 and 2006, we criticised every single property transaction that came before the council, opposing them at the committee stage as well. We stressed that we did not agree with what was going on. Our fundamental position was that we wouldn't sell properties, whether to individuals or companies. Properties can be rented. We voted against every single sale. When we saw that properties were being sold for less than their market value we reported this.

hvg.hu: You were sued for claiming that "the sixth district sold properties in just the same way as the seventh district." Do you continue to maintain this?

I.Z: The procedure was identical. "Project companies" were created for each individual property, which were bought by larger off-shore companies. These companies were registered somewhere else in the world, and the Hungarian justice system can't investigate them. The properties weren't bought but the off-shore companies that owned them. These transactions are legal, but given that theses are often listed buildings, the law should be changed. Look at the Post Museum building, with its beautiful glass windows and unique chandeliers. The council was expected to cut its selling price since the buyer would have to preserve these artifacts. Similar things happened in the case of the Ballet Institute. The council sold it for Ft1.2bn. In return, it committed itself to moving the Ballet Institute into a new building for Ft600m. They were meant to use the rest of the income to relocate the building's other residents, which would cost about Ft300m - meaning the council earned Ft300m from the transaction. That building is now being sold for something like Ft10bn - without any change at all in the building's condition. It's clear that the rehabilitation of Ferencvaros worked out well.

hvg.hu: What was the secret that allowed Ferenc Gegesy, the mayor, and his colleagues, to be so successful?

I.Z.: Ferenc Gegesy involved the population in the plans as they were drawn up, launching building projects that worked out well for everyone. Problems cropped up in places where rehabilitation programmes were designed to suit the interests of individual politicians without taking into account residents' interests. The properties sold in Terezvaros were sold relatively cheaply because the buyers had to pay the bribe money. Look at the rehabilitation of Kiraly utca. Two weeks after the rendering was completed it had already fallen apart. They saved money on materials and did a bad job. But lots of people made money out of it. We called on Terezvaros council to resign when this corruption was revealed. But a majority of councillors rejected our proposal, and so everything will carry on as usual, at least until 2010.

János Pelle