- Have you been to the famous "offshore" hotel in Vodice, Croatia?

- No, I haven't, but our lawyers have been there several times.

- It would be worth taking a look at the seaside hotel MVM purchased through an offshore company, which later lost MVM almost one billion forints on the deal.

- There are quite a few textbook examples from the period when the company was under the former management, which could be taught at schools. However, unfortunately they are the kind of things more likely to be taught at the police academy than at the University of Economics. The new management of the Group is interested in closing these inherited affairs, while incurring as little loss as possible. The hotel in Vodice is the property of a one-man company owned by MVM and since we would like to minimise the degree of loss on the property as much as possible, we decided to sell it. 

- Before the case is closed? Or is the court going to drop the charges because of a lack of crime to initiate a prosecution, as it happened with the case of the breach of contract between the Vértesi Power Plant and System Consulting? Commercial power traders are demanding ten billion forints from MVM because of László Kapolyi's company.

- I can't predict the outcome of the hotel case. We confirmed our commitment in finding out the truth to the police in writing. As far as the System Consulting affair is concerned we did not find a contract, only documents that referred to an agreement and traces of information exchange in regard to the agreement.  

- Assure me of something: have you found the original contracts pertaining to the hotel?

- Yes, we have, although it could generally be said that problematic contracts have a common feature: in almost all of them the obligations fall upon MVM, while the rights and business advantages are mostly granted to the other contractual party. 

- Are there any other obligations where documents have disappeared?

- Comprehensive investigations are in process and that's why I would not exclude this possibility either.

- Have you kept in contact with István Kocsis and Imre Mártha? Perhaps they could help and shed light on the circumstances surrounding the construction of MVM's new head office. If for no other reason, then because the authorities are investigating this affair too.

- This story has its twists and turns as well. The construction project should have been preceded by a thorough and well-thought-out planning process and then maybe it would have been possible to avoid the problems of location. It constitutes a problem that the new MVM head office is located well away from the city centre and the key companies of the Group are also not relocated in one place. At the same time, Mavir was able to move into the head office, despite the fact that as an independent systems operator it would have been more fortunate to physically separate it from the Group. A not too significant but nevertheless pretty large amount is necessary for this separation to happen in the future.

- Last year, at the time of the Bajnai government, MVM had to pay an advance dividend of 20 billion forints into the budget from its 2009 income. Do you expect something similar this year? Or will it be enough of a challenge to pay the crisis tax? 

- We did not receive a similar request from our owner now. The crisis tax amounts to 6.5 billion for the MVM Group, which of course we will deliver. 

- Although the year has still not come to a close, what do you predict: will you be able to fully fulfil your dividend payment obligations?

- It's difficult to make predictions, especially now when the end of year results for the Group depend on so many factors. The old affairs inherited from the previous leadership have left their mark on the management of the company. Because of these issues, material losses for the MVM Group could have reached 100 billion forints if we had not taken the necessary measures. The greatest insecurity is now presented by the possible settlement of the Vértes power plant, which is placed under bankruptcy protection, and our end of year balance could be influenced in a similar way by how the accounting pans out in regard to Kárpát Energo too. And our results for next year depend on what kind of energy prices the ministry for development establishes for public consumers. However, it must be admitted that the operation of the MVM Group is in need of change. 

- What does that mean? Is there a chance you will break away from earlier business strategy built on the often mentioned sound energy mix?

- It is clear that we have to improve the opportunities for cooperation within the Group and that we need to develop organisational order that can react to changes in the environment more rapidly. We have to increase the proportion of green technologies in Hungary but in such a way that they fit in with the geological and natural features of our country. Putting together such a strategy is a major challenge. The preparation of an energy policy conception built on renewables is already underway in the government's professional workshops and we are taking part in this. The aim is to significantly reduce the environmental load upon Hungary and to create space for those new technologies that are in line with EU and domestic expectations and which will also serve future generations.  

- Can't the Mátra power station serve future generations?

- In this industrial environment the Mátra investment is not economical and this is why we jointly decided with our owners that we would stop this 300-billion-forint development. There really is a need for a base-load power station in the electricity energy sector, but this in our context is the Paks Nuclear Power Plant. The project aimed at the expansion of the lifecycle of the currently used blocks in Paks is soon coming to a close and in the interests of the Hungarian economy we are still planning the construction of the two new blocks.  The costing for this is being calculated. Since this is a huge investment, we would like to see a priority government programme developed for the project.  

- The question is, does the government want such a programme?

- Since this is a matter of a strategic investment and it affects Hungary's energy security, it is expedient for the government to form an opinion about the programme. Parliament already did this last year, when it passed the plans for preparatory measures with a majority of 98 percent. We need to continually ensure the opportunity to articulate opinions for key players in the economic policy.

- In spring MVM's estimate for the investment was still at two thousand billion forints. Do you think that the new blocks might cost even more than this?  

- It will only be possible to put a final price on the entire investment after the opening of the bids. The market is pretty changeable in regard to prices and, accordingly, bids can vary considerably. We would like to complete the process of announcing the tender and  opening the bids within two years.

- In a period of crisis taxes, can we afford such a gigantic investment?

- Life will not exclusively centre on the recession. In a couple of years market conditions could normalise and there could be an upswing in demand. A significant amount of electrical energy is needed to kickstart and run production, and an increase in demand will also drive up prices.

- MVM's new management is accused of not being willing to sell the remaining shares in the Miskolc Heating Plant to the town of Miskolc because it wants to sell it to the company which you directed until June this year. What's the truth? 

- This selling process has been going on for years. It is true that we are looking into the sales possibilities and we are open to coming to an agreement with the new Miskolc leadership. We would like to have dealt with this affair by the end of the year. 

- The other day the K-Monitoring Public Funds Monitoring Office sued MVM. This organisation, which defines itself as independent, wants MVM to make public the contract with the Civil Security Service on the preservation and protection of the company's assets signed by the former management of MVM. Will you succumb to these demands?

- Questions affecting the security of MVM have never been discussed publicly.

- Is it possible that the reason MVM is attacked - at least if rumours are to be believed - is because your company initiated legal action against Kárpát Energo's former director, László Kapolyi?

- We have no inhibitions when it comes to bringing the truth to light: we would like to put an end to the past. It is common knowledge that the relationship between the MVM Group and László Kapolyi's companies is a troubled one. Despite this, shockingly, MVM's new management found contracts with the politician's company that are still valid. The MVM Group has now cut its ties with System Consulting and has made substantive steps in the Kárpát Energo case too.