Senior officials in Viktor Orban's inner circle must be investigated over €3.5bn of missing EU funds, the chief of Hungary's anti-corruption watchdog has told The Independent. The demand came as the Hungary Integrity Authority (HIA) revealed that three communications companies were awarded contracts worth €10bn by the government over the past four years – roughly a third of which may have been artificially inflated.
"Ultimately, we found that if we compare [the contracts] to market rates and to normal market circumstances, then roughly one third of the amounts that passed through these channels is what we believe to be an 'overpricing', and as such carrying an enhanced risk of corruption," said Ferenc Pál Biró, the president of the authority.
“Hungary's anti-corruption watchdog calls for investigation of Orban's inner circle over €3.5bn of missing EU funds.”
The contracts were awarded by centralised procurement bodies that the watchdog says are directly controlled by government ministries. "What we so far understand, without making any allegations, is that the entity or the ownership rights to these centralised bodies are the ministries – and the ministries are led by a minister," Biró said. "The causality link and the link of responsibility – that remains a question that needs to be investigated."
The allegations will further damage Orban's legacy. During a 16-year tenure dogged by accusations of corruption and cronyism by Brussels, some of his closest allies made unthinkable fortunes from government contracts. Lőrinc Mészáros, Hungary's wealthiest man according to Forbes, was a childhood friend of Orban in the small town of Felcsut. His stratospheric rise in wealth after Orban's 2010 victory – explicitly attributed by the billionaire to "god, luck and Orban" – saw him accumulate up to $5bn. István Tiborcz, the former leader's son-in-law, is 27th on the country's rich list, with $245m.
The HIA was created by Budapest in 2022 following pressure from Brussels to monitor EU fund spending, part of an uphill battle against corruption during the latter years of Orban's leadership. Orban suffered a crushing election defeat in April, and his popularity has continued to decline.
The watchdog is particularly interested in one group of companies that has won most of the government communications tenders in recent years. "So one specific company that we have been looking at…" Biró said, trailing off. The investigation now hinges on establishing the chain of command – and who ultimately bears responsibility for the missing billions.