Although the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) has launched a probe into the case of Katalin Cseh, Vice-Chair of the Renew Europe group in the European Parliament, and several investigations in the case are also under way in Hungary, Momentum – the MEP's party – continues to cover for her while she can only offer feeble explanations.

Both the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and the National Tax and Customs Administration of Hungary (NTCA) have launched an investigation into the case of Katalin Cseh, Vice-Chair of the Renew Europe group in the European Parliament, but Momentum – the MEP’s party – continues to cover for her, making confusing statements to explain their MEP’s dealings, a video compilation by Mediaworks reveals.

In the past, Momentum chief András Fekete-Gyor publicly stated that if any of the lawmakers from his party would receive EU funds unlawfully, they would be held to account. Now, however, despite numerous ongoing inquiries into Katalin Cseh’s case, no action has been taken.

Mr Fekete-Gyor bluntly announced that he considered the case closed, while Katalin Cseh – throwing a tantrum of sorts – threatened to sue all the media outlets and journalists who report on the developments of the scandal she is involved in.

In recent months, several suspicious facts have come to light about the business dealings of Pannonia Nyomda Kft (Pannonia Printing Ltd), the company the Hungarian MEP was the managing director of for five years.

As it turned out, the company founded by Ms Cseh’s father and its network of affiliated companies has won more than 13 million euros in EU funding in recent years. According to the complaint submitted to OLAF, there is a suspicion of collusion and abuse of power in some tenders as the firms belonging to the above network of companies had teamed up for certain tenders, clearly in order to assist Pannonia Printing Ltd in winnig public contracts.

It also emerged that Ms Cseh’s company had tendered and won EU funding for a project which was meant to help Budapest’s bid for hosting the Olympic Games, while she campaigned against the Olympics being held in the Hungarian capital.

Moreover, during this tender she portrayed an existing technology as new in order to secure EU funding. They also set up a new site because with the original site in Budapest the company would not have been eligible to participate in the tender.

Tamas Deutsch – an MEP of Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party who’s refereed the case to OLAF – pointed out that OLAF is also competent in cases where EU funds are not involved, but the reputation of the European Union is at stake because of someone working for its institutions. As he wrote, fraud clearly puts the EU’s reputation at risk, with potentially serious reputational consequences.

V4NA inquired at the European Public Prosecutor’s Office about the type of investigations under way against Ms Cseh, and the office did not deny that they were investigating the MEP’s case.

In Hungary, the Competition Authority has opened an investigation into the scandal of the vice president of Renew Europe’s group in the European Parliament, and the Hungarian Public Procurement Authority is investigating the legality of a contract modification in the case of Pannonia Printing Ltd.

In addition, the National Tax and Customs Administration of Hungary has also launched an investigation against an unknown perpetrator for the crime of budget fraud causing significant financial damages.