Former members of Hungary’s Media Council received a combined severance payout of roughly 144 million forints in addition to millions in bonuses upon their departure.
The payouts followed a legislative amendment that took effect at the end of June, terminating the mandates of the council’s former president and members. Under compensation provisions tied to a one-year non-compete restriction governing the media sector, departing officials were granted an amount equal to their full annual income from the preceding 12 months.
According to figures provided by the authority’s press office to Magyar Hang, former President András Koltay received a total of 59 million 519 thousand 091 forints. Koltay’s payout drew from two distinct funding streams, covering both his Media Council and National Media and Infocommunications Authority presidential incomes.
The remaining four council members—László Budai, Dr. Balázs Bartóki-Gönczy, László Meszleny, and Károly Szadai—shared a combined total of 85 million 114 thousand 782 forints. This brought the total severance disbursement paid out by the National Media and Infocommunications Authority (NMHH) to 144 million 633 thousand 873 forints.
The severance packages emerged alongside separate findings from an ongoing financial audit at the newly reorganized authority. Investigators revealed that the former council members routinely awarded themselves bonuses twice a year.
An administrative proposal submitted on April 10 recommended that the body vote on a 1.5-month bonus drawn from expected operating budget surpluses, intended to recognize tasks completed in the final quarter of the previous year and the first quarter of the current year. Meeting records show the council approved the measure, granting themselves 1.5 months of honoraria while the president received 1.5 months of base salary.
“The justification was merely that the Media Council’s budget had sufficient reserves from which a bonus could be paid,” the authority stated regarding the proposal.
Between 2022 and 2026, Koltay collected 80,301,300 forints in bonuses, while each of the four council members received 29,200,900 forints. Over a five-year period, the officials voted themselves a cumulative total of 197,104,900 forints in bonus payments.
During a recent meeting, the restructured Media Council characterized the regular issuance of three months’ worth of bonus payments annually as unacceptable. Representatives confirmed that such recurring disbursements will no longer occur under the current leadership.
The authority said that while the severance payouts complied with the exact wording of the media legislation in effect at the time of departure, the circumstances surrounding the financial distributions are currently under review by retained legal counsel.
