BUDAPEST — Hungary’s anti-corruption body established by Prime Minister Peter Magyar’s government as part of his anti-graft drive announced on Monday the first four cases that it intends to tackle.
Mr. Magyar says corruption and misuse of public funds have cost Hungary 8% to 10% of gross domestic product in recent years under former Prime Minister Viktor Orban. He has denied allowing corruption to go unchecked during his 16-year rule.
The first case concerns “selling political connections to obtain residence permits for employment”, the National Asset Protection and Recovery Office said in a statement sent to the national news agency MTI.
The second case involves alleged corruption involving local council expenditure on park maintenance and public catering.
The third case involves “a state-owned company and state investments”, the statement said. Mr. Magyar said in a Facebook post that this case was linked to Daniel Jellinek, one of Hungary’s wealthiest businessmen.
Mr. Jellinek, the head of real estate firm Indotek Group, was questioned by police and prosecutors on September 15 as part of an investigation into alleged bribery linked to a bus procurement deal.
Indotek said at the time that Mr. Jellinek would continue to cooperate fully, and stated its position that he had not committed any offense in connection with the matter.
The fourth case is about a state institution’s “seemingly unjustified propaganda and event costs”. Mr. Magyar said this was about the Sovereignty Protection Office, an Orban-era body that was abolished by Mr. Magyar’s government in June.
The Sovereignty Protection Office was created in 2023 to monitor risks of what Mr. Orban’s then-governing Fidesz party described as “undue political interference” by foreign entities. — Reuters
