Everything you need to know about Hungary's new anti-corruption office

Taking back the public assets which were stolen over the past 16 years was one of the Tisza Party’s most important promises during the election campaign. To make good on this promise, following the change in government, the creation of an independent “super-agency” was proposed. The idea was to set up an organization which would single-handedly be able to uncover abuses of public funds and return stolen assets, by handling everything from analysis and investigation to prosecution and the seizure of assets. As the law establishing the NVVH puts it: “The fundamental prerequisite for Hungary’s democratic rebuilding is the restoration of public trust, the strengthening of integrity in public life, and the assurance that the exercise of public authority and the management of public assets shall exclusively serve public interest.” In other words: the goal is that we finally become a country where stealing public funds is not considered a virtue.

Yes, there are agencies with a similar mandate in several EU member states. For example, in Romania, France, Poland, and Italy, while at the EU level, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office can investigate and bring charges in cases of fraud and corruption involving EU funds.

This office stands out from the rest because it will be able to handle everything—from investigations and filing charges to the actual recovery of stolen public assets—entirely on its own, under a single authority. This is why some have referred to it as a “super-agency.”

Okay, but what counts as public property?

The law defines this in great detail. Public property includes-for example-all assets, money, ownership interests in companies and foundations held by state, municipal, or budgetary entities. Additionally, it also includes the money, assets, etc., of such companies if they are under the authority of the aforementioned entities.

Spare me the legalese, give me an extreme example!

Take the soccer ball from last week’s Videoton–Mezőkövesd NBII derby—the Fehérvár soccer club is owned by the local government, so the ball they used qualifies as public property.

But what am I supposed to do with a soccer ball? I was promised that those who did this kind of stuff would be led away in handcuffs and put behind bars. How’s that going to happen?

Until September 27, 2026, it will definitely be happening without the NVVH, because that’s when the Criminal Procedure Act will be amended to include this new “super-agency.” But there’s no need to worry before then either, because the police, the Criminal Directorate of the National Tax and Customs Administration (NAV), and the investigative prosecutors’ offices will continue to handle these tasks. And ultimately, decisions on imprisonment are made by judges anyway.

Both. As a general rule, the police conduct investigations, and the prosecutor’s office files charges, but the NVVH will be able do both. Incidentally, this is exactly how it works in investigative prosecutor’s offices as well.

The Code of Criminal Procedure sets this out in detail. These are referred to as priority crimes related to the exercising of public authority or the management of public assets. This includes a whole range of offenses: corruption, accepting bribes in public office, serious fraud, misappropriation, budgetary fraud, money laundering, participating in a criminal organization, and many other acts.

Obviously not without cause, but it’s important to know that the NVVH will have the authority to conduct preliminary proceedings too. This was made possible by the previous administration. To initiate criminal proceedings, there must be a suspicion that a crime has been committed. It is, however, not a requirement for a preliminary investigation; it is enough if there is a suspicion of a suspicion of a crime. And in this kind of preliminary investigation, the NVVH—just like the prosecutor’s office—will have the authority to-in possession of a court order-monitor the communications of the person in question.

Of course. But as always, the courts will continue to make decisions on arrests.

Exactly the same way as the police or the investigative prosecutor’s office does: based on a complaint or ex officio. The latter means that the agency itself has detected a crime. Perhaps the most interesting aspect here will be to see how these agencies will be able to coordinate their activities, since investigations into the same crime cannot be conducted by multiple agencies at the same time. What we do know, however, is that the police, the National Tax and Customs Administration (NAV), and the prosecutor’s office will have to inform the NVVH about the status of cases involving public assets which are already under investigation. The new body will then be able to decide whether they want to take it over. It’s even possible that the case involving the Hungarian National Bank (MNB)—which was recently transferred from the police to the prosecutor’s office—could be brought to a conclusion by the asset recovery team.

The agency’s operations are not targeting politicians. The goal is to protect and recover public assets. This effort, however, will not only include criminal proceedings, but there will also be so-called public asset protection investigations.

A public asset protection investigation is a comprehensive review in which the NVVH inspects suspicious financial transactions, contracts, and the true owners behind companies in order to determine whether there has been any misuse of public funds or state assets. As part of this process, the authority may request data and information from practically anyone—and may even collect it in person—but they are not allowed to enter private residences during such investigations.

If you intentionally violate your obligation to cooperate, you could face a fine of up to 500 million forints (more than €1 million 370 thousand); if you do so on behalf of your company, the fine could be as high as 5 billion forints (€16 million 454 thousand).

Then they’ll initiate criminal proceedings. Something called a public asset oversight proceeding is a new option available to the office. This may be initiated if they believe a crime involving public assets may have occurred, or if they deem it necessary to safeguard assets that a company has acquired or ones that may have replaced these. In such cases, one of the office’s deputy chairpersons will become the supervisor of the business entity. From that point on, the company will only be allowed to assume obligations with the appointed supervisor’s consent, thus making it much more difficult—and in practice, virtually impossible—to strip the company of its assets.

This is completely new in the Hungarian legal system. Never before has a government agency had such a complex set of tools at its disposal. However, this change may not necessarily be a bad thing for a company under investigation. Previously, authorities would simply freeze the company’s bank accounts and seize its assets, often rendering it unable to operate—which also put employees, through no fault of their own, in a difficult situation. This new approach may make it possible for a company under suspicion to continue operating under strict supervision.

The body's president will manage its operations, finances, and staff; they can order investigations, file complaints, and initiate lawsuits. They are only accountable to Parliament.

The law does not allow for that. However, all other state and local government bodies are required to cooperate with the office. The president is required to report to Parliament if anyone interferes with the office’s work.

Anyone can join the agency through an open recruitment process, but police officers, tax investigators, and prosecutors may also be transferred from their current positions. There is one exception, however: actively practicing attorneys are not eligible to work there unless they suspend their practice.

In case of investigators, the president of the NVVH president must reach an agreement on the transfer with the Minister of Interior; if tax investigators are concerned, with the president of the National Tax and Customs Administration (NAV); and in the case of prosecutors, with the Chief Prosecutor—and, incidentally, the consent of the investigator, tax investigator, or prosecutor in question is also required.

For now, it’s unclear how skilled the professionals the office will be able to recruit will be, nor is it clear to what extent the leadership of other agencies will be motivated to cooperate with it. This also applies to the question of whether they’ll be willing to part with their best people, since similarly to the new office, other agencies also need to be effective—and that requires skilled professionals. All this remains to be seen, as does the question of whether any potential “competition” between the NVVH and the other agencies will increase or decrease efficiency.

The president will decide on staffing levels based on the budget. The agency is expected to be a top-tier body with a few hundred employees—at least that is the plan.

The transferred police officers, tax authority officials, and prosecutors cannot earn less than they did at their previous jobs. The salaries of the agency’s other employees will be determined by the president.

The president of the office, similarly to the chief prosecutor, is entitled to a gross monthly salary of 5,017,810 forints (€13,760)—equivalent to seven times the base salary—while the vice presidents are entitled to a gross monthly salary of 3,942,565 forints (€10,813) which is 5.5 times the base salary; This is supplemented by other benefits available to ministers and state secretaries, such as the use of a company car and health care, 20 and 15 days of additional vacation respectively, and 24-hour police protection.

(Attorney-at-law Dr. Kristóf Bodó contributed to this article as an expert.)