Several current and former politicians have been arrested and taken into custody in a corruption scandal spanning party lines in Hungary as authorities expanded a long-running investigation into an alleged HUF 2 billion bribery network involving multiple municipalities and political parties.
On Thursday, 4 June, a Budapest court ordered the 30-day pre-trial detention of current District II Mayor Gergely Őrsi, former District II Mayor Zsolt Láng, former Socialist MP Zsolt Molnár, former Óbuda deputy mayor and local Fidesz leader Péter Puskás, two politicians from the progressive Momentum party, and two company executives. All have appealed the ruling.
The arrests followed coordinated raids earlier this week, during which investigators searched multiple locations, seized tens of millions of forints in cash and valuables, and questioned additional suspects, bringing the total number of individuals implicated in the case to 32.
‘Prosecutors claim the payments continued for years regardless of changes in political leadership’
According to the Central Chief Prosecutor’s Office of Investigation, the case centres on a businessman who allegedly paid more than HUF 2 billion in bribes to local government officials, councillors, and politicians in exchange for influence and municipal contracts. Prosecutors claim the payments continued for years regardless of changes in political leadership and involved politicians from both the left and the right of the political spectrum.
The investigation, which has been ongoing for nearly a decade, has gained significant momentum over the past two months following the landslide victory of Péter Magyar and the Tisza Party in the 12 April election. Involving politicians and local power brokers from Fidesz, Momentum, and the Hungarian Socialist Party, the case embodies what Tisza described during its election campaign and after taking office as the systemic corruption of Hungary’s ‘old elite’.
One of Magyar’s central campaign promises was to hold former government officials, politically connected businessmen, and other individuals implicated in corruption accountable, regardless of party affiliation. Since taking office, his government has prepared the legal and institutional framework necessary to launch several high-profile investigations into alleged abuses of public funds and has repeatedly pledged to dismantle what it describes as entrenched networks of political patronage established during the Orbán era.
According to Magyar and Tisza, this effort also extends to public office-holders appointed during the Fidesz–KDNP constitutional supermajorities, including President Tamás Sulyok. The arrests came amid an increasingly tense constitutional confrontation between the government and the presidency, after the 31 May deadline set by Magyar for public office-holders to step down expired last Sunday. President Sulyok and several others refused to resign, prompting Tisza to prepare constitutional amendments aimed at removing them from office.
‘The commission has already expressed its intention to investigate the case under an accelerated procedure’
Sulyok has appealed to the Venice Commission, one of Europe’s main constitutional advisory bodies, arguing that the planned legislation constitutes a serious breach of the rule of law. The commission has already expressed its intention to investigate the case under an accelerated procedure, according to a statement from the presidency on 4 June.
Supporters of President Sulyok and Fidesz plan to gather outside Sándor Palace—the official residence of the president—on 7 June to protest the government’s planned removal of office-holders appointed under previous administrations.
Organizers argue that the move would ‘weaken Hungary’s constitutional checks and balances’ and have called on participants to place white flowers in front of the palace as a gesture of solidarity with Sulyok and the heads of other state institutions. Former prime minister Viktor Orbán shared details of the protest on his Facebook page with the caption: ‘I agree. Everything has its limits.’
These developments appear to be highly favourable for the governing party. According to a recent poll published by Závecz Research and conducted at the end of May, Tisza increased its support to 73 per cent among decided voters, while Fidesz continued its decline to just 20 per cent. If replicated in an election, the figures would represent one of the largest polling leads recorded in Hungary’s post-communist history.
Sharing the results, Magyar declared that ‘since 1990, no single party has ever had as much support as Tisza does today,’ adding that his party would continue to fulfil its responsibilities.
Related articles:
At a time when public debate is increasingly polarized and superficial, Hungarian Conservative remains committed to depth, intellectual honesty, and independent conservative thought.
Producing high-quality journalism requires resources. Your contribution helps us expand our coverage, reach new audiences, and keep our content accessible.
Please consider supporting our mission.
