Hungarian lawmakers arrested as government moves against former regime officials
Two former ministers were detained after parliamentary immunity was lifted, marking the first major step in Prime Minister Peter Magyar's anti-corruption drive against the previous administration.
Hungary's new government said it was taking its first significant anti-corruption action by arresting two former ministers linked to the previous administration. On Monday, the parliamentary majority removed immunity for Balazs Hanko, a former culture and innovation minister, and Miklos Sesztak, a former development minister now serving as a lawmaker for the Christian Democratic People's Party. Both men face investigations into alleged misuse of public funds and bribery.
Hanko is accused of allocating about €50 million from the National Cultural Fund to projects that included election-campaign financing, while Sesztak is alleged to have received roughly €30 million in bribes related to state-owned transport and construction contracts between 2015 and 2018. After their immunity was lifted, Sesztak surrendered to prosecutors and was placed in pre-trial detention. Hanko initially remained in the parliamentary building with his family before being ordered to leave and later taken into custody.
Prime Minister Peter Magyar, who earlier asked for his own immunity to be lifted in a separate theft case, used the occasion to criticize the previous government's alleged corruption, stating that the amount of money allegedly stolen far exceeds any symbolic gestures. He also called for reforms in the prosecutor’s office, rejecting a candidate for prosecutor general due to perceived conflicts of interest.
The arrests have been portrayed by some as a test of the new government's commitment to the rule of law, while public opinion polls show a majority of Hungarians view the former regime as corrupt. Legal experts have urged the authorities to proceed with caution and maintain judicial independence as the investigations continue.