Hungarian Parliament Lifts Immunity of Prime Minister Magyar and Two Former Orbán Ministers, Enabling Criminal Investigations

Hungary’s Parliament voted on Monday to strip Prime Minister Péter Magyar and two ministers from former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government of their parliamentary immunity, clearing the way for prosecutors to pursue separate criminal investigations into each official.

The measure passed with an overwhelming majority after Magyar himself requested the lift, stating he wanted to clear his name from what he called “character assassination.” The investigations targeting the two former ministers—former Culture Minister Balázs Hankó and former National Development Minister Miklós Seszták—mark the first corruption probes against high‑ranking figures from Orbán’s 16‑year tenure.

Orbán’s Fidesz party and its coalition partner KDNP boycotted the session. The vote followed a request from prosecutors last week to investigate Magyar, Hankó, and Seszták.

Magyar is under investigation for an incident at a Budapest nightclub in June 2024, in which prosecutors allege he seized a mobile phone from a man filming him and threw it into the Danube. Magyar has denounced the case as a “sham” and accused prosecutors of conflating the ex‑ministers’ cases with what he describes as a failed political smear campaign.

Corruption Cases

Hankó, a Fidesz lawmaker, is accused of embezzling more than €40 million ($46 million) in public funds. Prosecutors allege the money was diverted to finance the 2026 parliamentary election campaign and for the personal benefit of associates.

Seszták, a KDNP lawmaker, faces allegations of accepting more than $37.2 million in bribes and kickbacks linked to vehicle procurements for Hungary’s state bus company and state construction projects.

Both former ministers deny any wrongdoing.

The cases arise less than six months after Magyar’s Tisza Party ended Orbán’s 16‑year rule with a landslide election victory. Magyar campaigned on pledges to combat corruption, restore rule‑of‑law safeguards, and repair Hungary’s strained relations with the European Union.

Since taking office, his government has made fighting alleged corruption and inflated public procurement a centerpiece of its agenda, including plans for a new asset‑recovery office focused on wrongdoing tied to the Orbán era.

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