THE 18th-century baroque corner mansion at 21 Uri Street is a jewel in Budapest’s crown. The building, which once served as the local town hall, boasts rococo wall carvings, a statue of Pallas Athena set into an exterior sconce, two interior courtyards and a marvellous onion-domed clock tower. It is owned by PADA, an educational foundation, which plans to turn it into an economics college, kitted out with luxurious facilities and a gourmet wine-and-cheese shop. But the source of the project’s funding is unusual: PADA received the property, valued at 2.4 billion forints ($8.8m), as a gift from the Hungarian national bank.
The development at 21 Uri Street is part of a growing scandal over foundations created by the national bank, which critics say are often run for the benefit of the government and its allies. PADA is one of six foundations which the bank set up in 2014, funding them with total grants of about $1 billion, as well as property worth $25m. The foundations were expected to support themselves in part by investing in government bonds, but their finances remained secret. The sums involved are huge for Hungary, where the entire GDP was...Continue reading
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