Exactly two years ago, the Hungarian radio regulator ORTT refused to renew the license of Emmis to operate Radio Slager, and instead gave it to what Emmis calls an entity "with close ties to the two largest Hungarian political parties." The same thing happened to Danubius Radio, which had been run by Accession Mezzanine Capital. Emmis and AMC appealed to the Hungarian courts and won favorable decisions. But they claim "these courts were unable to provide any effective remedy for these illegal activities." Now the two former operators have gone to the international level, filing a formal request for arbitration at the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes. The ICSID operates under the authority of the World Bank. Emmis won the license for what became Radio Slager in 1997, while Danubius had operated since 1986. The companies say "Slager and Danubius were consistently the top-rated stations in Hungary, reaching over four million listeners per week, out of a population of 10 million." Emmis CEO Jeff Smulyan has continued to say his company would press for some kind of redress, after making significant investments in Hungary.