Hungary Detains Two Former Orban Ministers in Widening Graft Investigation
The move marks the first judicial action against former cabinet officials as Hungary attempts to dismantle entrenched political patronage.
Hungarian authorities detained two former government ministers on corruption charges after lawmakers voted to strip their immunity, advancing Prime Minister Peter Magyar's anti-graft drive against the network of former Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
The public prosecutor's office ordered the arrest of former Culture and Innovation Minister Balazs Hanko and former National Development Minister Miklos Sesztak. Both men voluntarily turned themselves in to authorities following summonses from investigators, according to Hungarian media reports.
The arrests followed an extraordinary parliamentary session where 139 deputies voted to revoke immunity for Hanko and Sesztak. Members of Orban's opposition Fidesz party boycotted the vote.
Prosecution documents show Hanko faces scrutiny over the alleged misuse of approximately 17.3 billion forints from the National Cultural Fund between 2025 and 2026, with funds allegedly diverted toward campaign expenses. Sesztak faces bribery allegations involving municipal purchases of used buses exceeding 11 billion forints.
Magyar wrote that Hungarian citizens are seeing genuine equality before the law after years without accountability. In response, Orban condemned the detentions on social media, describing the actions of the new government as political persecution.
Magyar won a parliamentary majority earlier this year after campaigning to dismantle illicit patronage networks formed during Orban's 16-year rule. Parliament previously formed six special investigative committees to examine suspected abuses, including transactions connected to Hungary's central bank and former state contracts.
Judges in Budapest must decide within 72 hours whether to place both former ministers into extended pretrial detention.
