Borvendég Zsuzsanna: Fabulous Spy Games. How international trade networks with the West developed after 1945 - A Magyarságkutató Intézet Kiadványai 24. (Budapest, 2021)
‘THE HUNGARIAN MAFIA’ - The secret man behind the scenes: János Nyerges
'THE HUNGARIAN MAFIA' over the oil. In the case of Gombosi, however, the lawsuit also helped push rival social democrats to the periphery.141 As a committed communist, Nyerges assisted in wrapping up the case cooked up by state protection, but he also helped sideline social democrats in other ways. When he was moved to Bern, his superior, the social democrat János Beck refused to assist Nyerges business games, unconditionally so the Communist Party had no choice but to oust him. According to CIA information, Nyerges did everything he could to ruin Beck, so the commercial attaché had to emigrate in 1948, providing his deputy, Nyerges, with an opportunity to take over the office.142 141 For more on the economic lawsuits, cf. Cseszka 2012; Szörényi 2012; Szörényi 2013; Cserényi-Zsitnyányi 2015 142 CIA, FOIA, Absorption of Power by the Communists in the Hungarian Foreign Service, 1 August 1949 https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP82- 00457R003000310005-3.pdf (Downloaded on: 20 August 2019) 143 ÁBTL 3.2.1 Bt-481/1 p. 14 Report, 3 October 1950 144 ÁBTL 3.2.1 Bt-481/1 p. 84 Report, 6 August 1951 145 ÁBTL 3.2.1 Bt-481/1 p. 91 Negotiations in Switzerland, 11 September 1951 Nyerges was sent home to Hungary in October 1950 at his own request, saying he had been living abroad since he was 18 and wished to serve in his home country.143 He became head of department, then head of division at the Ministry of Foreign Trade and was put in charge of coordinating economic relationships with western countries. He held a position that was particularly important for state protection, and the leaders of the State Protection Authority (ÁVH) expected him to keep actively cooperating via his liaison officer, Miklos Bauer. Every trade transaction with any relevance to capitalists fell within his remits, every travel report was forwarded to him, and he also supervised offices in the West.144 His best relations were in Switzerland, of course, where he was also entrusted with maintaining cooperation with the local communist party organisation. Some sort of conspiratorial error was made in terms of funding the party companies of the Swiss left, and Nyerges was sent to Bern to resolve the issue: he should find an opportunity to provide better funding to them.’145 The establishment of the Hungarian system to support party companies in Switzerland dates back to the years when Nyerges was staying there. The 55
