Csaba Tarsoly, the former head of failed brokerage Quaestor, was sentenced to 13 years in prison by the Budapest Metropolitan Court, ending eight years of legal battles.

The 60-year-old businessman was found guilty of orchestrating one of Hungary's largest financial frauds, causing HUF77bn (€220mn) in damages to around 800 bondholders.

Tarsoly and his associates were charged with embezzlement, fraud and other offences by the office of Budapest's chief prosecutor in February 2016.

The Quaestor scandal dates back to 2015 when the company declared bankruptcy, with investigators finding that it had issued HUF150bn in fictitious bonds and engaged in fraudulent activities for years.

According to inquiries of the Hungarian National Bank, which acts as the financial supervisor, the brokerage issued HUF210bn in corporate bonds in total, of which HUF150bn could have been unsanctioned bonds. Tarsoly denied these allegations, claiming that the company had issued bonds in line with regulations and with licence from the oversight authority.

In the heyday of its operations, the Quaestor group had more than 200,000 clients and employed more than 600 people.

In a recent interview, Tarsoly said that losses could have been recovered, but liquidators sold properties in companies close to the ruling party at a fraction of the market value.

In 2022, some of Quaestor's assets, including the football stadium in Gyor, western Hungary, were auctioned off to a company linked to Attila Paar, a former business partner of Prime Minister Viktor Orban's son-in-law, Istvan Tiborcz. Other assets were also sold to businessmen connected to prominent figures in the ruling party.

Of the 10 people on trial, Tarsoly's wife, and the fourth defendant were acquitted. The third defendant in the case received 16 years in prison.