Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar’s administration arrested two prominent lawmakers and former ministers, Balazs Hanko and Miklos Sesztak, on corruption allegations as part of “Operation Purgatory” launched in June 2026. The arrests mark the first significant development in the promised reckoning with the Orban system, following the Tisza Party’s parliamentary faction lifting both politicians’ immunity with a two-thirds majority.
Immunity Lifted and Arrests of Hanko and Sesztak
On Monday, the Tisza Party faction removed parliamentary protections for Balazs Hanko, former minister for culture and innovation and a lawmaker from the Fidesz party, and Miklos Sesztak, a former development minister and Christian Democratic People’s Party lawmaker. Prosecutors are investigating Hanko for allegedly allocating roughly 50 million euros unlawfully from the National Cultural Fund in 2025 and 2026 for election campaigns and ruling party financing. Sesztak faces allegations of accepting around 30 million euros in bribes between 2015 and 2018 regarding contracts with Volanbusz and the construction sector.
Contrasting Departures from Parliament
Following the votes, the two lawmakers took sharply different paths out of the National Assembly. Sesztak went straight to the prosecutor’s office on Monday and was placed in pretrial detention. Hanko arrived at Parliament with his wife and four teenagers, effectively barricading himself inside after his immunity fell. He left only that evening after Parliament Speaker Agnes Forsthoffer issued a written order to vacate and he received a prosecutor’s summons. Fidesz lawmakers accompanied him outside, protesting what they termed Magyar’s “arbitrary rule” in a scene livestreamed on Viktor Orban’s Facebook page. An SUV driver departed without Hanko, who chased the vehicle before the broadcast cut out; media reports later confirmed Hanko also entered pretrial detention.
Prime Minister Magyar’s Own Immunity Lifted
Prime Minister Peter Magyar also faced an immunity vote on Monday over a classified theft record from June 2024, when he threw a man’s phone into the Danube after being filmed without permission at a nightclub. Magyar explicitly requested the waiver to demonstrate equal standards, though a conviction risks his parliamentary seat. In a parliamentary speech, Magyar challenged opposition lawmakers, asking, “How many hundreds of thousands of phones would you have to throw into the Danube to come close to the trillions allegedly stolen by the Fidesz-KDNP mafia?”
Legal Battles Over the Prosecutor General
The anti-corruption drive has triggered an institutional clash over the leadership of the prosecutor’s office, which Magyar has accused of acting as “collaborators of the Orban system.” The Tisza faction rejected Zoltan Szathmary, the presidential nominee for prosecutor general, because his brother works for the Office for Constitutional Protection and is a suspect in the “Gold Convoy” affair. In March 2026, Viktor Orban ordered the seizure of a Ukrainian money shipment, leading to arrests and investigations into abuse of office. Prominent attorney Gyorgy Magyar urged “prudence, patience, calm, discipline, and professionalism” in an interview with Hirklikk as public expectations for swift justice remain high.
Common Questions on the Hungarian Corruption Investigations
What triggered the recent arrests in Hungary?
The arrests followed a parliamentary vote where Prime Minister Peter Magyar’s Tisza Party faction used its two-thirds majority to lift the immunity of opposition lawmakers Balazs Hanko and Miklos Sesztak.
What specific allegations do Balazs Hanko and Miklos Sesztak face?
Balazs Hanko is investigated for allegedly allocating about 50 million euros unlawfully from the National Cultural Fund for election campaigns and party financing. Miklos Sesztak is accused of accepting approximately 30 million euros in bribes between 2015 and 2018 tied to state bus company and construction contracts.
Why was Prime Minister Peter Magyar’s immunity lifted?
Magyar requested that Parliament lift his immunity regarding a June 2024 incident where he threw a man’s phone into the Danube after being filmed without permission at a nightclub.