Former Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban exercised personal control over the work of law enforcement agencies and security services, said in a post on "Facebook" current Prime Minister Peter Magyar, quoted by the Hungarian news agency MTI, BTA reported.
According to him, Orban could personally make decisions to carry out searches and raids, as well as to delay certain procedures. "He must be held accountable for this", Magyar stressed.
The Prime Minister also shared a publication by the Hungarian publication "Telex", which claims that the previous government, and specifically Viktor Orban, ordered an operation against the so-called Ukrainian "golden convoy" without sufficient professional grounds. According to the material, which refers to conversations with sources familiar with the case or involved in it, the decision to take action was made at the highest political level.
On March 5, Hungarian services detained a transit convoy of the State Savings Bank of Ukraine, transporting $40 million, €35 million and 9 kilograms of gold from Austria to Ukraine, according to data from the Hungarian tax administration. On May 6, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Hungary had returned the seized funds and gold to Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Tisza party MP Marton Meletey-Barna submitted a bill to close the Office for the Protection of Hungarian Sovereignty. According to the draft, the institution did not perform real public functions, and its creation was dictated by political goals and interests. Meletey-Barna claims that its real role was to exert political pressure on citizens, NGOs and the media.
The bill also states that maintaining a state body engaged in "pseudoscientific activities in support of fabricated conspiracy theories" poses a threat to the rule of law and hinders citizens' participation in public life. According to the authors of the proposal, the Office for the Protection of Sovereignty has not protected Hungary's sovereignty, but on the contrary, has played a key role in supporting the authoritarian exercise of power.
The law to close the office is scheduled to enter into force the day after its official promulgation. The institution has been operating in Hungary since February 1, 2024.