Two former ministers in Orbán’s government arrested and accused of bribery and misusing millions of dollars

Two former members of Viktor Orbán’s government in Hungary have been arrested on suspicion of misusing public funds and accepting bribes. The arrests were carried out just hours after parliament voted to lift their immunity.

Balázs Hankó, who served as culture minister and is a lawmaker for the nationalist Fidesz party, was arrested on Monday evening on suspicion of embezzling public funds. He has denied the allegations.

Meanwhile, in a separate case, Miklós Seszták, a former minister for national development and lawmaker for the allied KDNP party, was also taken into custody. Prosecutors suspect him of accepting bribes, while he has likewise stated that he committed no wrongdoing.

These are the first corruption investigations to implicate senior officials from the previous government, which ruled Hungary for more than 16 years under Orbán’s leadership.

According to prosecutors, Hankó played a supervisory role in the misuse of around 17.3 billion forints, equivalent to 47 million euros, from Hungary’s National Cultural Fund.

Investigators suspect that the money was directed to artists and organizations linked to Fidesz, while part of it was allegedly used for the 2026 election campaign. Hankó has rejected these claims.

“My conscience is clear; this is a political show trial,” he said in a video published shortly before his arrest.

The investigation into the National Cultural Fund took a significant turn in July, when police searched Fidesz offices and seized the party’s servers.

At the time, Orbán attacked the investigation, accusing the new government of trying to target his political force.

As for Seszták, prosecutors believe he benefited from more than 12 billion forints, or around 32.6 million euros, through bribes and payments connected to public tenders.

Part of the case concerns the purchase of used buses for Hungary’s state-owned bus company. Authorities suspect that the prices of these vehicles may have been illegally inflated.

The case file also includes other public construction projects. Seszták, who headed the Ministry for National Development from 2014 to 2018, has denied the allegations.