Orbán’s brother reportedly tried to arrange interception of Ukrainian convoy

Exclusive: Áron Orbán tried to arrange for Ukrainian gold convoy to be intercepted in Austria

A newly published investigation by 444.hu alleges that Áron Orbán, younger brother of former Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán, contacted a former political acquaintance in Austria just weeks before Hungary’s 2026 election to ask whether an incoming shipment from Ukraine could be “caught”. According to the investigation, Orbán contacted Csongor Lászlóvári-Thoma, a Hungarian businessman living in Graz, on 26 March. The two had not spoken for several years. Lászlóvári-Thoma had previously been involved in Austrian politics and appeared on the ÖVP’s list in the 2021 Graz municipal election, although he did not win a seat.

Messages obtained by 444.hu show Orbán first asking how much influence his former acquaintance had in Austria before bringing up a shipment travelling through the country. He then asked whether they could “catch” it. Lászlóvári-Thoma understood the reference to be about a shipment of cash and asked for clarification. Orbán reportedly replied that he was referring to a new shipment, rather than the one that had already been intercepted in Hungary earlier that month.

Former Hungarian minister detained over alleged misuse of public funds

Two former Hungarian ministers have been detained on suspicion of corruption, hours after MPs voted to lift their parliamentary immunity. Balázs Hankó, Orbán’s former culture minister and a current MP for Fidesz, was detained late on Monday over alleged misappropriation of public funds, while Miklós Seszták, a former national development minister and MP for Fidesz ally KDNP, was detained as part of a separate bribery investigation. Both men deny wrongdoing. Prosecutors allege that Hankó oversaw the misuse of 17.3bn forints (€47m) from Hungary’s national cultural fund, directing the money to artists and groups with links to Fidesz and financing its 2026 election campaign. Shortly before his arrest, Hankó said in a live video that his “conscience is clear” and called the case a “political show trial”.

The detentions came on the same day parliament also voted to lift the immunity of PM Péter Magyar, whose Tisza party swept to victory in April after campaigning on promises to investigate alleged corruption and abuse of office during Orbán’s 16 years in power. Magyar, who had asked for his immunity to be lifted, is accused of taking a phone from a man filming him in a nightclub in 2024 and throwing it into the Danube. He denies that his actions amounted to theft and has called the case a “sham”. The investigations into Hankó and Seszták are the first against senior figures from the former government, according to the report. Magyar said the arrests marked a new era of “equality before the law”, while criticising prosecutors for linking the corruption investigations to what he described as an attempt at “political character assassination”.

EU chief prosecutor says first Hungary investigation could begin next year

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office could launch its first investigation in Hungary next year, its chief prosecutor, Laura Kövesi, has told Hungarian online news outlet Telex. Kövesi travelled to Budapest for talks with ministers in the Tisza government and representatives of the prosecutor general’s office about Hungary joining the European Public Prosecutor’s Office.

Kövesi, who was elected the office’s first chief prosecutor in 2019, previously led Romania’s anti-corruption directorate, where two former prime ministers, dozens of ministers and numerous other politicians and mayors were brought to trial. In her interview with Telex, she discussed which cases the European Public Prosecutor’s Office could investigate in Hungary, her relationship with the Orbán government, her message to PM Péter Magyar and Tisza’s campaign promise to establish a National Office for Asset Recovery and Protection.