(June 8): Entrenched corruption under former Hungarian leader Viktor Orban likely cost Hungary about 60 trillion forint over the past 16 years, according to the head of the country’s anti-graft agency.
Hungary’s corruption was made progressively worse by authorities’ unwillingness to fight graft, Ferenc Biro, the head of the Integrity Authority, told the De! Akciokozosseg in a video interview on Sunday.
Biro cited an example from 2024, when he said former justice minister Bence Tuzson and ex-EU affairs minister Janos Boka summoned him to a meeting to demand that his agency stand down from on-site checks related to probes.
Tuzson confirmed the three-way meeting but said the ministers didn’t interfere in the work of the anti-corruption agency, the 444 news website said. Boka didn’t respond to a request for comment.
The Integrity Authority was established in 2022 as part of an agreement between Hungary and the EU to enhance anti-corruption oversight after Brussels blocked more than US$20 billion in funding due to corruption.
Hungary Prime Minister Peter Magyar, who was elected in April on a pledge to crack down on graft and bring Hungary back to the EU mainstream, sealed an agreement last month to unlock €16.4 billion in funds.
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The government plans to file legislation this week to meet EU criteria to tap the money, consisting mostly of anti-corruption steps. As part of the EU deal, Hungary has agreed to strengthen the remit of the Integrity Authority, which had unsuccessfully sought in the past to boost its ability to fight high-level political corruption.
Under Orban, Hungarian authorities raided the Integrity Authority and Biro’s home last year after the agency started reviewing the work of the government’s spending on communications. Biro said the raid was designed to intimidate and pressure him into resignation.
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