Economy 8 April 2016, 10:36am

Hungarian PM Orbán talks Sunday shopping ban, offshore scandal

Portfolio

While a key hurdle has been cleared from Hungary’s Socialist Party (MSZP) to finally have a referendum on the no-work Sunday law, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said the ban to open stores on Sundays in the retail sector was just the first step and the cabinet intends to apply the regulation on other sectors, as well. In an interview with public radio MR1 on Friday he has also addressed the ongoing global offshore scandal sparked by the biggest leak of information ever at a Panama-based law firm.

We would like if everyone stayed home on Sundays and spend this day of the week with their family. This is the general principal that we support, Orbán told the radio when asked about his views on the referendum on the no-work Sunday. We do not want to strip people of the possibility of working on Sundays, but we do not want that to be forced, he added.Orbán said the retail sector was only the first step and the government has been contemplating ever since how the mandatory rest on Sundays could be extended to other sectors.

The PM said the cabinet will receive on Monday a report from the Economy Minister on the impacts of the no-work Sunday and they will also make it public. Debates will certainly ensue and then the government will decide what its political answer will be on a potential referendum on the matter.

11.5 million offshore financial records were leaked last weekend from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca. The documents show how Mossack Fonseca has helped clients launder money, dodge sanctions and evade tax. One Hungarian politician is mentioned in the documents by name, Zsolt Horváth, a former politician of Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party. Horváth withdrew from politics two years ago.

Addressing the leak Orbán said even the question is nonsense whether Hungarian government members have offshore interests or not since they are obligated to submit an asset declaration annually and if we assume these are credible then hiding certain interests is illegal. At the same time, the PM noted people have every right to know whether those with a serious business background in Hungary pay their taxes duly and respect the law. Therefore Hungary-related offshore cases must be uncovered. Orbán also mentioned Alstom’s bribery case allegedly involving staff of the Budapest Transport Company, adding that evidence needs to be requested from UK authorities and the case needs to be investigated.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán arrives in the studio of the Hungarian Radio before his interview with public radio MR1 Kossuth on 8 April 2016. In the background is Bertalan Havasi, head of the PM’s press office.

Alstom Group may have given bribes totalling 2.3 million euros to officials of the Budapest Transport Company (BKV) via an Austrian firm in 2016 to ensure it comes out as the winning bidder in the Hungarian capital city’s metro tender, local news portal index.hu reported on Wednesday, citing developments in the investigation by the United Kingdom’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO).