Hungary Lifts Prime Minister Péter Magyar’s Immunity as Two Former Orbán Ministers Face Investigations

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Hungary’s Parliament has lifted the parliamentary immunity of Prime Minister Péter Magyar and two former ministers who served under ex-leader Viktor Orbán, clearing the way for separate criminal investigations. The vote marks a major development in Magyar’s efforts to investigate alleged corruption linked to Orbán’s 16-year rule.

Magyar’s immunity was lifted after prosecutors sought permission to investigate him over a 2024 incident at a Budapest nightclub. Prosecutors allege that he took a mobile phone from a man who was filming him during an altercation and threw it into the Danube River. Magyar denies committing a crime and had himself called for his parliamentary immunity to be removed, saying he wanted the case to proceed.

The other two lawmakers are former Culture and Innovation Minister Balázs Hankó and former National Development Minister Miklós Seszták. Prosecutors accuse Hankó of the improper use of about 17.3 billion forints, roughly €44 million, from Hungary’s National Cultural Fund. The allegations include claims that public money was allocated through politically influenced decisions. Hankó has denied wrongdoing.

Seszták, who served as development minister between 2014 and 2018, faces a separate investigation into alleged bribery and kickbacks involving state contracts, including procurement linked to Hungary’s state-owned bus sector. He also denies wrongdoing. Both former ministers were subsequently detained after their parliamentary immunity was lifted.

The parliamentary vote passed 139-0, while Orbán’s Fidesz party and its coalition partner, the Christian Democratic People’s Party, did not participate. Fidesz lawmakers have rejected the investigations as politically motivated, while the government says the cases form part of a wider effort to investigate suspected misuse of public funds. None of the three politicians had been indicted at the time of the immunity vote.

The developments come months after Magyar’s Tisza party defeated Orbán’s Fidesz in the April election, ending 16 years of Fidesz-led government. Magyar campaigned heavily on tackling corruption and strengthening institutional safeguards, and his government has since established a new anti-corruption body that has begun investigating cases linked to the previous administration.

The cases are now expected to move forward through Hungary’s criminal justice system. The immunity decisions do not themselves establish guilt, and the allegations against all three politicians will have to be examined through the relevant investigations and legal proceedings.