In Hungary, two former ministers in Orbán’s government were detained in a corruption case
Kyiv • UNN
Balázs Hankó and Miklós Seszták are suspected of misappropriating state funds and bid-rigging. The expenses for Péter Szijjártó’s flights are also being investigated.
In Hungary, two former ministers in Viktor Orbán’s government—Balázs Hankó and Miklós Seszták—were detained. They are suspected of corruption offenses related to the distribution of public funds and government contracts. TVP World reports, as cited by UNN.
Details
It is reported that former Minister of Culture and Innovation Balázs Hankó and former Minister of National Development Miklós Seszták were taken into custody on Monday, several hours after Parliament stripped them of their parliamentary immunity.
The detentions took place several months after Prime Minister Péter Magyar’s Tisza party ended Orbán’s 16-year rule in the April election.
Commenting on the detentions, Magyar wrote on Facebook on Monday: "After Orbán’s unworthy game of hide-and-seek and most pathetic performance in history, by the end of the first serious day of Operation Cleansing Fire, two former ministers have ended up in the hands of law enforcement."
Corruption cases
Hankó is involved in an investigation into the distribution of funds from Hungary’s National Cultural Fund—a state fund that finances cultural projects and institutions.
According to prosecutors, from September 2025 to March 2026, 17.3 billion forints (€47 million) was improperly distributed through 1,079 grants. Some of the funds were reportedly used for an election campaign and personal needs.
Hankó denies any wrongdoing and calls the proceedings politically motivated. He voluntarily went to the tax authority to give testimony.
His former state secretary, Veronika Varga-Bajusz, was also taken to law enforcement authorities and reportedly questioned as a suspect, although there is currently no confirmation that she was officially detained.
Seszták, who served as development minister from 2014 to 2018, is suspected of receiving a total of €34 million in bribes connected to government contracts, including agreements involving the state-owned bus company Volánbusz. He denies committing any crime.
His case was transferred to Hungary’s newly created National Office for the Recovery and Protection of Assets, which is part of Magyar’s government’s broader anti-corruption campaign. Seszták became the first person taken into custody on the orders of this agency.
Flights of former foreign minister under investigation
A separate investigation also concerns travel expenses incurred by former Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó.
Documents from Hungary’s Foreign Ministry obtained by the Hungarian news website 24.hu show that in 2022–2026, the ministry paid €781,000 for eight private jets that Szijjártó ultimately did not use. In each case, a private jet was booked for Szijjártó, but he later flew on a Hungarian military aircraft, while the state paid a cancellation fee for the booking.
Szijjártó, who left politics in July to work for Chinese automaker BYD, essentially did not comment on the allegations. When asked by journalists earlier this month, he said that he now works in the international corporate sector.