Prosecutor’s office rejects Dobrev’s petition on ‘pocket contract’

In her petition, Dobrev alleged that, based on purchase and donation agreements and a German-language certificate presented during the purchase procedure, the real owner of the lands in question was not the person registered in the land registry. She alleged the legal transaction had aimed to transfer proprietary rights to an unauthorised person.

The prosecutor’s office said in a statement on Thursday that the petition did not fulfil the necessary requirements for submitting a claim to start legal proceedings.

The prosecutor’s office reviewed the related documents, and found that one property had been transferred to the ownership of its present Hungarian owner lawfully in every respect. The remaining six lands are in the hands of the state. All purchase agreements had been found to be in line with Hungarian law in previous court proceedings, the prosecutor’s office said.

The mortgage on the state-owned lands was also found to be lawful, the statement said.

While Hungarian laws at the time banned foreign nationals from acquiring Hungarian land, the agreements were concluded between Hungarians, the statement said.

Regarding allegations that the documents together added up to a “pocket agreement” aiming to circumvent Hungarian law, the prosecutor’s office said the parties had withdrawn from implementing the contents of the German-language certificate, so no such result had been achieved.

Dobrev said in response that the decision was “trying to absolve crime by circles close to Fidesz… But this will not always be so. There will come a day when an independent prosecutor’s office will rule that [President] Tamas Sulyok is a common criminal who has helped play Hungarian land to foreigners’ hands, using strawmen and pocket agreements, unlawfully and in a criminal organisation,” she said.