Two former cabinet ministers in Hungary have been arrested on charges of misappropriation and bribery.
The arrests have come as part of what has been dubbed as Prime Minister Péter Magyar’s ‘Operation Purgatory’ or ‘Operation Purge’, aimed at tackling corruption during the regime of previous Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and holding those responsible to account.
Balázs Hankó, the former Minister for culture and a sitting MP representing Orbán’s right-wing Fidesz party, was arrested on Monday, September 28, 2026, following a vote in the National Assembly to remove his parliamentary immunity.
Miklós Seszták, Orbán’s former minister for national development, was also taken into custody on the same day.
Hankó has been arrested for misusing millions in public funds, which he allegedly had been channeling into the Fidesz party and its campaign funds. Seszták meanwhile has been accused of taking millions in bribes in relation to public transport and engineering projects.
Péter Magyar had been elected in April 2026 on pledges to tackle the alleged widespread corruption under the Orbán regime. Since then, he has suspended state media outlets accused of political bias, sought to bring greater independence for the judiciary, and bring about greater transparency around the spending of public finances and EU funding.
The former President of Hungary, Fidesz’s Tamás Sulyok, has also been removed from office, as has been the president of the Constitutional Court and the prosecutor general. Magyar has further called for the resignation of László Windisch, President of the State Audit Office, who he has accused of failing to properly oversee allocations of public funds, helping to cover up government corruption, and channeling billions of forints into Fidesz party campaigns.
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“After decades of lies, millions of Hungarians could experience for the first time what genuine systemic political change and equality before the law actually mean. Hungary is finally no longer a country without consequences,” Magyar stated on X following the arrests.
The prime minister went on to describe the Orbán regime as “an economic and political mafia”, and has indicated that Orbán himself may face legal action.
“Soon it will become clear which political or economic mafioso will break the code of silence and start singing about the mafia boss. Because of this, Fidesz is now deflecting, lying and making threats. Honest police officers, prosecutors and customs officers are being attacked. Viktor Orbán is terrified of facing the truth and being held accountable.”
Hankó and Seszták have each denied the charges against them, and have claimed they are politically motivated. Hankó told reporters ahead of his arrest that his “conscience is clear”.
Fidesz has accused Magyar’s centre-right Tisza party of being the “new communists,” stating on social media that there had “been no example of this in Hungary since the change in the system”, referring to the fall of Hungary’s communist regime in 1989.
“Today Balázs Hankó, tomorrow you,” they added, a line that has been echoed by numerous Fidesz party politicians.
“Thirty-six years after the fall of the Berlin Wall and regime change in Hungary, we now prepare for the return of staged trials and politically motivated verdicts,” claimed Fidesz MEP András László.
“The new PM has already called him a criminal before anything was concluded by the investigation on how cultural funds were awarded. This would not be allowed in the European Parliament.”
László further alleged that the judiciary is acting on Magyar’s personal instructions, which constitutes a violation of its independence. “The era of political show trials is back.”
Viktor Orbán has similarly claimed Hungary is in a “new communist era,” whilst also defending his own record as head of state.
“I am proud to have successfully and effectively stopped and dismantled the largest corruption scandal in Europe, the Ukrainian mafia’s financial actions, in Hungary, “ he stated on Saturday, October 10.
“The authorities worked exemplarily and successfully. Acting in their own legal capacity, without government instructions, they did an excellent job. It is a shame that the current government is tormenting its best employees, who have fulfilled their duties.”
Hankó attended court in the city of Kecskemét in Central Hungary on October 1, surrounded by press reporters and photographers, where the District Court ordered that he will be kept in pre-trial detention for a month. Hankó claimed he had not been given the opportunity to speak during the initial hearing. “So much for freedom of speech,” he said.
The court emphasized that his ongoing detention should not be seen as an indication of guilt ahead of sentencing, but only as a procedural measure whilst investigations are still being carried out. Members of the prosecution also emphasized their concern that there was a flight risk, as well as a risk of evidence interference.
Seszták was also seen in court the day before, where he was similarly put into pre-trial detention for 30 days.
Full details of each case are yet to be made public whilst proceedings are still ongoing. The continued detention of both politicians has, however, drawn criticism both from in Hungary and elsewhere.
Patriots for Europe, a right-wing group of MEP’s co-founded by Orbán, have accused the EU of a double standard, asking why it had been quick to attack the Orbán regime in the past but has been silent on what they describe as Tisza’s attempts “to clearly and in an unprecedented manner restrict the rule of law and democracy in Hungary.”
Members of the Hungarian delegation of Patriots for Europe have portrayed the arrests as politically motivated and based on false charges.
“Your duty and responsibility is to monitor compliance with the rule of law in all Member States, applying the same standards, regardless of the political orientation of the government in question,” they wrote in a statement addressed to Michael McGrath, the European Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, and the Rule of Law.
Jorge Buxadé, an MEP belonging to Spain’s far-right VOX party, made the same point when addressing the European Parliament last week, where he denounced what he called “the arbitrary arrest” of Hankó by the Magyar government.
“These events bring back painful memories for Hungarians and for all countries that suffered under communist repression,” he went on to say.
“For years, under a patriotic government, Hungary has been subject to intense scrutiny by this chamber. But now that the Magyar government is politically aligned with Brussels, this scrutiny has been magically replaced by silence. We cannot look the other way.”
Featured image: Peter Magyar via Facebook
