The mayor of Budapest's downtown 7th district was taken into custody and interviewed on suspicion of real estate fraud, the head of the municipal attorney's office said on Tuesday.

Mayor Gyorgy Hunvald, a member of the governing Socialist party, had raised complaint about the suspicion and the custody, Imre Keresztes said.

Budapest's district 7, and especially its area called "Jewish quarters" has for years been in the centre of attention for suspected real estate fraud.

So far the sale of 14 formerly state-owned buildings way under market price has been examined.

Dozens of people had been interviewed as suspects, three of them are currently in custody.