Criminal Complaint Filed in Ruszin-Szendi's Villa Scandal

A complaint was filed with the prosecutor’s office over the villa case involving Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi, after the State Audit Office (Kehi) released serious findings on Monday. According to the report, a luxury property worth one billion forints was developed using public funds, based on the personal preferences of the former Chief of the General Staff — who now serves as Peter Magyar’s defense advisor. Ultimately, Ruszin-Szendi only lived in the property for a few months.

Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi (Photo: Ripost.hu)

Istvan Tenyi filed a criminal complaint on suspicion of misappropriation of public funds after the State Audit Office (Kehi) published its report on Monday concerning the ssandal surrounding Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi's luxury villa. In his complaint submitted to the Central Investigative Prosecutor’s Office, Mr. Tenyi recalled that audit office's investigation revealed more than one billion forints in spending, luxury upgrades, and egregiously wasteful purchases tied to the official service residence in Dunakeszi designated for the former chief of defense.

Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi appears to have no aversion to luxury (Photo: Ripost.hu)

Costs exceeding HUF 1 billion 

According to Mr. Tenyi’s summary of the report, Mr. Ruszin-Szendi has ordered the purchase of high-end, custom-made furnishings using public funds — items that would be unjustifiable in a standard government apartment, and whose individual value ran into the millions of forints. He stressed that the scale and nature of the former chief of defense’s spending on personal comfort was exceptionally high and raises serious concerns about the transparency and justification for the use of public money.

According to the report and the complaint, the Ministry of Defense-owned HM EI Zrt. purchased the property in March 2022 for 235 million forints at Ruszin-Szendi’s request. Additional upgrades tailored to his demands were then carried out at a cost of 652.5 million forints.

With these renovations, the total investment into the property reached 896.9 million forints, to which an additional 132.2 million forints worth of furnishings were added, Mr. Tenyi wrote in his filing to the prosecutor’s office. He also noted that a significant portion of these purchases had nothing to do with the core function of a government residence, but instead served the personal comfort and unique preferences of Mr. Ruszin-Szendi and his wife.

Photo: Ripost.hu

The former chief of defense lived in the service property from January to May 2023 before moving out.

Mr. Ruszin-Szendi never purchased the property developed at a cost of one billion forints. Since then, it has remained unoccupied, and no tenant has been found. As a result, HM EI Zrt. has earned no income from the property, while maintenance and upkeep expenses have totaled 10.3 million forints to date, according to the complaint.

Police investigation already underway

It should be noted that the Budapest Police Headquarters (BRFK) had previously launched an investigation into the villa case, also on suspicion of misappropriation of funds. It is likely that the new complaint will be appended to the existing police file. You can find more information on that investigation and the background of the case by clicking here.

Photo: Ripost.hu

Liposuction also on the tab

A few days ago, the State Sudit Office also revealed details of a liposuction procedure involving Peter Magyar's associate. You can read more about that in this article.

Cover photo: Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi (Photo: Ripost.hu)