Hungarian Integrity InstituteHungarian police raided the offices of the Integrity Authority, the state agency responsible for the use of EU funds abroad.
The Prosecutor General announced that Chairman Ferenc Biro was accused of corruption and abuse of power.
Police also raided Biro’s home and seized documents.
He admitted to “lenting his official car to my wife to go shopping”, but denied the allegations and said he was being targeted for political reasons “from above”.
That statement alone raised eyebrows among Hungarians.
Ferenc Biro and his wife Judit are key executives in the ruling Fidesz party and are insiders with excellent relationships at the highest levels. His position and salary are equivalent to those of a government minister.
An integrity body has been established in early 2023 to demonstrate to the European Commission that EU funds have been used and audited correctly. Its leaders were appointed by the President of the Republic.
The Prosecutor’s Office also indicted him on charges of interfering with the work of the two vice presidents.
These allegations are shaking the government for three reasons.
This comes just 10 days after Antal Rogan, the minister responsible for government communications and Secret Service in Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s cabinet, was placed on the U.S. Treasury Department’s sanctions list as a “main designer, implementer and beneficiary of this system.” corruption”.
The move was harshly criticized by the government as “personal revenge” against outgoing US Ambassador David Pressman.
The second reason is that Prosecutor General Peter Polt has long been criticized by the opposition for failing to investigate corruption in the ruling Fidesz Party.
The third reason is that Hungary permanently lost €1 billion (£845 million) in EU funding on December 31, and billions more will be at risk if it does not meet strict EU standards for releasing already suspended funds. Because you can.
“Throughout my career, I have fought against corruption, fraud, ethics and integrity,” Biro wrote in his October 2022 application for the presidency.
According to a statement released by the Prosecutor General, in addition to his official car, Biro rented a second luxury car and charged 14 million Hungarian forints (€34,000, £29,000).
Hungarian media reports said office funds were used to renovate his luxury home and build a hundreds of meters long fence around it.
Hungary’s economy is suffering as EU funds are short, the value of the Hungarian currency is falling and annual inflation surged to 4.6% last month.
Government critics believe Ferenc Biro may be right. That means Viktor Orban is willing to sacrifice one of his chess pieces to get some much-needed cash.
Biro hit back at the investigation with his own statement.
“Today they specifically attacked my person and through this they tried to make the operation of the Security Bureau impossible,” he said Thursday night.
“Our organization has always operated and continues to operate in accordance with the highest ethical and legal standards.”
