Magyar orders investigation into North Macedonia’s 1 billion euro loan

The Hungarian government under the leadership of Péter Magyar will examine suspicions of misuse of public funds in the case of the one billion euro loan that the state bank “Eximbank” granted to North Macedonia.

The announcement was made yesterday by Magyar himself, who, according to Hungarian media reports, stated that the loan to North Macedonia is one of four problematic cases related to “Eximbank.” Regarding these issues, the Ministry of Economy and Energy has already filed the relevant complaints.

“On Thursday, the Ministry of Economy and Energy filed four lawsuits for suspected fraud with a total value reaching one trillion forints, in four separate episodes. All of them center on the activity of ‘Eximbank,’” declared Magyar.

He noted that the financing was secured on extremely favorable terms, with an interest rate of only 3.25 percent.

According to him, due to the interest rate difference, this loan will burden the Hungarian state treasury with 90 billion forints, a figure that converts to around 248 million euros.

“It is a burden of 90 billion forints on Hungary’s budget, while the Hungarian state, under the leadership of Orbán’s executive, assumed a full 100 percent guarantee for the loan,” stressed Magyar.

He also added that the interest offered to North Macedonia by the state “Eximbank” is significantly lower than the rates at which Hungarian businesses and citizens borrow domestically./INA/