At a joint press conference with István Binder, spokesman of the Hungarian Financial Supervisory Authority (HFSA), government spokesperson Anna Nagy said that an e-mail circulating on the internet which claims that the Government is planning to nationalise bank accounts valued at over two million forints falls into the criminal category of scaremongering.

Ms. Nagy said that the bogus and misleading e-mail claims that after the EU Presidency Brussels will block laws already adopted by the Government which will increase the budget by HUF 500 to 600 billion, thus forcing the government to nationalise higher-value accounts.

Mr. Binder said that government bodies and the HFSA have launched an inquiry into the case on the grounds of illegal market manipulation. So far two people have been identified, but the spokespersons did not reveal who they were. Anna Nagy said that the bogus e-mail appeared on a mailing list.

Mr. Binder confirmed that the rumour is completely unfounded, and that the message was similar to those e-mails which are used to illegally acquire bank customers’ personal details. The HFSA spokesman said that the Government has taken this e-mail seriously because it would have had an impact on the markets. The banks have not reported mass withdrawals from accounts, and this briefing session was held to prevent this from happening, said Mr. Binder. He added that EU legislation stipulates that every account is guaranteed up to HUF 26.6 million.

The HFSA spokesman said that due to the bogus mail an investigation had been launched into illegal market manipulation, and that other authorities had also been contacted in connection with this.

(kormany.hu)