Hungarian President signs law establishing National Asset Recovery and Protection Agency

“The law establishing the National Agency for the Recovery and Protection of Assets (Nemzeti Vagyonvisszaszerzési és Vagyonvédelmi Hivatal-NVVH) has entered into force today. Prior to signing this law, it was reviewed for constitutionality by experts from the Constitutional and Legal Directorate of the Presidential Office. No constitutional concerns were raised,” Acting President of Hungary, Ágnes Forsthoffer has announced on Facebook. She added that the new agency will be responsible for uncovering abuse involving public assets, facilitating the recovery of unlawfully acquired assets, and preventing the recurrence of such cases in the future.

Parliament passed the bill establishing the agency on Tuesday with 143 votes in favor and 47 against. The creation of this agency was one of the Tisza Party’s key campaign promises. According to the justification for the proposal initiating the establishment of the body, “Without uncovering the systemic abuses that have taken place over the past decades, it is impossible to establish the transparent and accountable operations of the state, which is necessary for restoring public trust. Under the law, uncovering the past misappropriation of public assets is a prerequisite for rebuilding democracy”. The agency will operate completely independently of the government and will be accountable only to Parliament.

The law provides the NVVH with broad powers. One of its divisions—the division responsible for conducting investigations prior to criminal proceedings—will perform risk assessments and will thus be able to access bank accounts, records, and official documents. To this end, it may enlist the assistance of the police, the prosecutor’s office, and the National Tax Authority (NAV). The office will be authorised to initiate both proceedings related to the protection of public assets and criminal proceedings- depending on the nature of the allegations. The chair and the vice chairs of the body will be elected by Parliament within 30 days of the law taking effect.

Leading figures of the former governing party, Fidesz have been vocal about their criticism of establishing a body such as the NVVH, and have said it only serves the purpose of persecuting those of a different political conviction.

Prime Minister Péter Magyar has previously indicated that the agency will have the authority to take over certain cases which are already being investigated, potentially including the case related to the foundations of the Hungarian National Bank.