Trial of customs officers accused of graft begins

The trial of 53 customs officers accused of accepting bribes to skip procedures in misdemeanor cases on the Hungarian-Ukrainian border in 2015 started in Budapest on Thursday. According to the charge, the officers ignored irregularities such as expired personal documents, residency permits or visas or the overloading of vehicles for fixed prices. They asked for 50 euros to overlook expired travel documents and between 100 and 400 euros if none were presented. The misdemeanors concerned would have otherwise triggered immigration control procedures or instant fines. The staff serving at passport control split the bribes among themselves and with other employees. The officers brought to trial worked at the Zahony border crossing and controlled about 2 million people and 900,000 vehicles in 2015, it said.