Hungarian police reportedly detain brother of ex-PM Viktor Orban

Hungarian authorities detained four people and searched homes in Budapest and Pest county during coordinated operations on Monday. Prime Minister Peter Magyar stated in Berlin that the 49-year-old businessman had been taken into custody. Viktor Orban dismissed the action against his brother as political revenge, writing on Facebook that his younger brother was just a tool in a dirty game aimed at establishing a one-party system. Magyar ousted Viktor Orban in an April election and established the National Asset Recovery and Protection Office (NVVH) to investigate corruption during Orban's 16-year rule. U.S. News & World Report noted that the NVVH and police carried out the raids as part of ongoing criminal proceedings concerning suspected human smuggling. According to authorities cited by Reuters, the four detained suspects are accused of helping Vietnamese citizens reach Western Europe for several months in 2024 by charging recruitment fees at Hungary's foreign missions in Vietnam. Euronews.com reported that Aron Orban's company may have facilitated Schengen visas for Vietnamese citizens by enrolling them in a two-day course at the University of Pécs under a contract first revealed by the newspaper Nepszava. The deep dive detailed that the contract, dated to early 2024, involved Multi Shoot contracting the university for €30,000 per group, and that Aron Orban signed the agreement as the company's chief executive rather than its owner. Telex reported that officers searched a property linked to an Orban-associated company, while asset recovery office head Anna Unger confirmed investigative steps involving Aron Orban without confirming an initial detention. Euronews.com added that three former ministers from Orban's government and former central bank chief Gyorgy Matolcsy are currently under arrest over separate graft accusations. Additional details regarding the offenses and investigative actions are expected to be made public soon by the joint operation of the National Bureau of Investigation and the NVVH.