Hungary detains Viktor Orban’s brother in people-smuggling probe: PM Peter Magyar

• Hungary detained four people, including Viktor Orban’s brother Aron Orban, in a people-smuggling probe. Peter Magyar said the case is part of his anti-graft drive, “Operation Purgatory”.
• Authorities say the suspects helped Vietnamese citizens reach Western Europe in 2024 and took “a recruitment fee” at Hungary’s foreign missions in Vietnam. Police said the case involved “human smuggling committed as part of a criminal conspiracy for the purpose of financial gain”.
• Viktor Orban called the arrest political revenge and said, “I am the target, my younger brother is just a tool.” The anti-graft office is also probing corruption during Orban’s 16-year rule.

BUDAPEST – Hungary has detained the brother of former prime minister Viktor Orban during its investigation of a people-smuggling case, Prime Minister Peter Magyar confirmed during a speech in Berlin.

The Nov 9 comments came after the Hungarian anti-graft body said in a statement it and the police had detained four people and searched homes at several sites in Budapest and Pest county as part of the case.

“Three out of the ex-ministers of Orban are already in custody,” Magyar said on the sidelines of a speech in the German capital.

“Already, his brother today went to custody,” he added, referring to the former prime minister’s sibling, businessman Aron Orban, 49.

Writing on Facebook, Viktor Orban dismissed his brother’s detention as an instance of political revenge.

“In this dirty game, the aim is the elimination of the political opponent and the establishment of a one-party system. I am the target, my younger brother is just a tool,” the former prime minister wrote.

In the Nov 9 statement, the National Asset Protection and Recovery Office (NVVH) did not identify the suspects detained and the police also declined to do so in an e-mailed response to Reuters.

The body was set up to investigate allegations of corruption during Orban’s 16-year rule, which the latter has denied.

It was established by Magyar, who ousted Orban in an April election, and is central to his government’s anti-graft campaign which he has dubbed “Operation Purgatory”.

The Nov 9 statement had said the four detained were suspected of helping Vietnamese citizens reach Western Europe for several months in 2024.

The perpetrators charged visa applicants a so-called recruitment fee at Hungary’s foreign missions in Vietnam, which they then shared, the authorities said.

The woman and three men held are suspected “of human smuggling committed as part of a criminal conspiracy for the purpose of financial gain”, the police said.

In September, the NVVH said “selling political connections to obtain residence permits for employment” was among the first four cases it planned to investigate.

Two former ministers from Orban’s government and former central bank chief are currently under arrest over graft accusations in separate investigations. REUTERS