Business
Lezsák Sándor and Others Could Be Held Liable for University Foundation Funds Lost in Stock Market I
Thanks to reports from the State Audit Office, it has come to light that the Neumann János University Foundation, which manages the Kecskemét University, invested 80 percent of its entrusted assets, amounting to 127 billion HUF, in a single investment form: the bonds of Optima Investment Ltd., a company linked to the central bank's foundation. We provided a detailed overview of these events in this article.
Members of the university foundation's board are financially and criminally responsible for their decisions, as stated by lawyer Péter Bárándy, former Minister of Justice, in an interview with 24.hu. He added that board members could be held accountable with their personal assets for any damages caused.
However, according to the paper, the board members are not volunteering their time for free: they receive a monthly salary of 1.6 million HUF for their relatively light yet responsibility-heavy roles. The same salary was also paid to members of the supervisory board, including the mayor of Kecskemét from Fidesz.
Four board members voted in favor of purchasing the bonds:
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Lezsák Sándor, Fidesz parliamentary representative and deputy speaker of the National Assembly,
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Gaál József, deputy mayor of Kecskemét,
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Nagy Zoltán, the university's president and CEO,
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Bánkuty Tamás, a member of the supervisory board of the bond-issuing company.
Bánkuty Tamás told 24.hu that he was not familiar with the State Audit Office's reports nor the foundation’s position, and therefore could not comment. He was the only one among the involved individuals to respond to the paper's inquiry. Nagy referred the paper to the foundation, while Lezsák’s phone call was redirected to a colleague who requested the questions in writing but did not provide a response. Gaál, on the other hand, did not respond at all.
