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' head of division the task of drawing up a plan for how to set up a company in Switzerland that could delegate a representative to Belgrade or send someone to Yugoslavia on a regular basis under the cover of company business.155 Two weeks later, Nyerges did submit a hand-written note on how this plan could be implemented. Unfortunately, this document did not survive.156 The State Protection Authority (ÁVH) clearly wanted to use the company for intelligence purposes to ensure a channel of penetration into the hostile South Slavic state, which means it seems unlikely that state protection was driven by economic considerations. Although it is unclear from the documents whether the plan was actually carried out or not, the report is still important as it shows that the Hungarian secret service was considering establishing a company in Switzerland as early as the early 1950s. The Pénzintézeti Központ (PK, Financial Institute Centre) later established a major holding in Bern under the name Centropa AG, which became the gateway for setting up further companies in capitalist countries. We cannot automatically conclude that André was under Hungarian ownership, or that it was specifically established by Hungarian intelligence, but this evidence does show that this possibility cannot be ruled out. 155 ÁBTL 3.2.1 Bt-481/1, p. 128 Report, 4 July 1952 156 ÁBTL 3.2.1 Bt-481/1, p. 139 Report about the meeting, 14 July 1952 In the 1960s, Nyerges wrote a book about issues relating to trade between East and West, elaborating in detail the damage the Nazi Germans and the forces supporting them inflicted on Hungary by robbing the country of its economic assets: “The country was bleeding from a hundred cuts. Gold, machinery and raw materials were transported to the West in hundreds of wagons. For reconstruction and to get back on its feet, it was indispensable for the nation to have its rightful assets returned. [... ] Having experimented to no avail to use the returning of the nations rightful assets for the purposes of political blackmail of the plundered and famished country, the US government [...] expelled the Hungarian restitution committee from West Germany on 15 April 1948. [...] Following the events of 1948, Hungarian assets continued to be sold off with even fewer restrictions in West Germany to the benefit of American, German 59
