Hungary's long reckoning with alleged graft is shifting from accusations to prosecutions, the country's anti-corruption watchdog has told Politico. Senior figures from Viktor Orbán's former government could face charges over EU money the authority believes was systematically misused. Those words arrive as Orbán's successor works to rebuild trust with Brussels and reclaim funds frozen for years.

Senior officials in the crosshairs

Ferenc Pál Biró, who heads the Hungarian Integrity Authority, said top politicians "can and may well be prosecuted." He described it as an alleged effort to bilk EU taxpayers over the course of Orbán's 16 years in power. His team had flagged several criminal cases, he said. Biró wants Hungary to recover the money and have it repatriated, since most has already left the country. He stopped short of naming Orbán or anyone in his inner circle. 

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The alleged procurement scheme

The watchdog claims that three companies won most government contracts at artificially inflated prices. The key figures he laid out:

• Roughly €10 billion paid to just three firms in four years
• About €3.5 billion, the watchdog treats as overpricing tied to corruption risk
• Everyday goods and services billed at multiples of their market value

Biró said tenders were manipulated and that the Hungarian state "became the largest entity on the market."

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The watchdog Orbán was made to create

Brussels required the Integrity Authority in 2022 as a condition for releasing frozen money. It monitors how EU funds are spent and sits independently of the government. The body should help unwind patronage empires built under Orbán, spanning construction, utilities, and media. Biró has led it since it launched. Hungary has had billions frozen over corruption and rule-of-law concerns. Orbán himself now faces corruption investigations under the new government.

Bribes and intimidation

Biró said the previous government targeted him while he investigated the scheme. He described attempts at bribery and politically motivated pressure. His wife was offered a job with high pay and no work, he said, though he would not say by whom. He was also held over an accusation of misusing his company car.