Hungary’s Orbán Claims Retaliation After Brother Is Detained in Trafficking Investigation

Viktor Orbán is accusing Hungarian authorities of carrying out a political “witch hunt” after the former prime minister’s brother, Áron Orbán, was detained in connection with a human trafficking case.The National Investigation Agency said Monday its investigators and the National Asset Recovery and Protection Office were conducting “joint investigative actions” in two unspecified ongoing criminal cases. Several European news agencies reported that Áron Orbán was arrested for charges of human smuggling. A company he controls is alleged to have attempted to bypass normal procedures to make it easier for Vietnamese citizens to obtain Hungarian visas by enrolling them in a two-day life-saving course at the University of Pécs. The visa would allow the citizens to travel freely in the 29 European countries that abolished internal passport and border controls.Mr. Orbán claimed his brother was the victim of a “dirty political game” designed to eliminate opponents but said he was the real target. “My younger brother is simply being used to get to me,” he added.Mr. Orbán said the government was trying to divert attention away from its handling of communist-era secret police archives that were made public last week. Hungary has started releasing the names of tens of thousands of people who spied for the communist-era secret police that Mr. Magyar pledged during his presidential campaign he would make public. A Fidesz politician and ally of Mr. Orban, Sándor Lezsák, was mistakenly named in the files. He was not a secret police contact but was under surveillance. Fidesz politicians criticized the mistake and Mr. Magyar later issued an apology to Mr. Lezsák.“Whenever the government finds itself in an embarrassing situation, it resorts to the tactics of the communist-era secret police,” Mr. Orbán said in an X post.“However, instead of facing scrutiny, it is using political persecution to divert attention,” Mr. Orbán continued. “What is happening in Hungary is not accountability. It is a political witch hunt.”Prime Minister Péter Magyar — who defeated Mr. Orbán in an April election — criticized his political opponent. “The former prime minister, of course, as usual, immediately pointed fingers at others, and as a ‘brave’ street fighter, he immediately put himself in the position of a victim,” Mr. Magyar said in a Facebook post.The joint investigation with the National Investigation Bureau led to several arrests Monday at Budapest and two settlements outside the capital. Searches were also underway at the homes of the people who were targets of the investigation.The National Asset Recovery and Protection Office was established after Mr. Magyar took office in May as an independent state body to identify, secure, and recover unlawfully acquired public assets. Its focus has been on fighting graft that the new administration claims flourished during Mr. Orbán’s 16 years in power. Mr. Magyar has described Mr. Orbán’s government as the Hungarian equivalent of the Cosa Nostra.The office has gone after several government figures from Mr. Orbán’s time leading the country. Three ex-ministers are in custody, including former central bank governor György Matolcsy, who was arrested in October. Mr. Matolcsy was one of Mr. Orbán’s closest economic allies. He is being investigated for a bank foundation that was endowed with $817.8 million in public assets. Mr. Matolcsy has denied any wrongdoing.Mr. Orbán’s Fidesz political party has accused the investigative office of being set up to carry out political retaliation. It noted that the leadership of the office was appointed exclusively by Mr. Magyar’s Tisaz party.

Hungary’s Orbán Claims Retaliation After Brother Is Detained in Trafficking Investigation

Hungary’s Orbán Claims Retaliation After Brother Is Detained in Trafficking Investigation

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