Former Hungarian culture minister detained after allegations of misappropriation

BUDAPEST, Sept 29 - A former minister in ex-Prime Minister Viktor Orban's cabinet has been detained, prosecutors said on Tuesday, over accusations of misappropriation at the National Cultural Fund (NKA), a body overseen by the culture ministry.

Former culture minister and current member of parliament Balazs Hanko was taken into custody late on Monday at the National Tax and Customs Administration after lawmakers voted to lift his parliamentary immunity.

Hanko has denied any wrongdoing.

• In July, police raided the offices housing Hungary's main opposition Fidesz party internet servers, in connection with "misappropriation and other criminal offences" at the NKA.

• Prosecutors launched criminal proceedings after allegations from several individuals that the NKA channelled billions of forints in state grants to artists and organisations with ties to Fidesz through a non-transparent allocation process. Those involved denied wrongdoing.

• "As a result of an ongoing investigation ... into the criminal offence of misappropriation ... the prosecutor's office took Member of Parliament Balazs Hanko into custody and questioned him as a suspect," prosecutors wrote in a statement on Tuesday.

• "My conscience is clear, this is a political show trial," Hanko said in a live video broadcast on Orban's Facebook page before his arrest.

• Hungary's anti-corruption body, established by Prime Minister Peter Magyar as part of his anti-graft drive, has announced a first four cases that it intends to tackle.

• Miklos Sesztak, who served as minister for national development in Orban's cabinet between 2014 and 2018, was also detained on Monday as part of an investigation into alleged bribery. Sesztak denies wrongdoing.

• "Yesterday was an important day. After long decades of lies, millions of Hungarians experienced for the first time what true regime change and equality before the law mean," Magyar wrote on Facebook on Tuesday.

• Magyar says corruption and misuse of public funds have cost Hungary 8% to 10% of gross domestic product in recent years under former Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Orban has denied allowing corruption to go unchecked during his 16-year rule. REUTERS