Orbán-era cultural minister detained over corruption charges

Balázs Hankó, Minister of Culture and Innovation in the Orbán government between July 2024-May 2026 was detained on Monday evening. Veronika Varga-Bajusz, Hankó's former state secretary was also brought in for questioning. The Fidesz-delegated MP’s immunity was suspended by Parliament on Monday upon the request of the prosecutor’s office on suspicion of misappropriation. It is alleged that in his capacity as minister and president of the National Cultural Fund (NKA), the politician participated in a criminal act in which between September 3, 2025, and March 30, 2026, the NKA’s Temporary Board for Priority Cultural Programs allocated public funds in 1,079 instances for purposes other than those specified by law, causing a financial loss of 17.3 billion forints (more than 47,6 million euros).

“Balázs Hankó and his associates established and operated a dual procedural system to distribute the assets of the National Cultural Fund along political lines, based on electoral district coverage, in which formal and actual decision-making were separate from one another,” the statement reads. According to the prosecutor’s office, the law prohibits the former minister and the fund’s vice president from participating in the evaluation of individual grant applications; however, in this case, “Balázs Hankó, or possibly another person or persons,” were the ones making the decisions. Based on the evidence gathered so far, Hankó’s actions appear to constitute misappropriation causing outstanding pecuniary damage. Our previous article has more details about how the scandal about public funds meant to support culture ending up in the hands of Fidesz-affiliated circles broke in April, and we also reported about documents showing that on one occasion, a circus was booked for Fidesz’ campaign event to add a cultural element to the gathering which was then funded by the NKA.

The parliamentary immunity of the Orbán government’s minister was suspended on Monday with 139 votes in favor and no abstentions or votes against, along with the immunity of another former Orbán government minister, Miklós Seszták and Prime Minister Péter Magyar (in an unrelated case from before he was in office).

After his immunity was suspended, Balázs Hankó spent the day inside Parliament with his family, as he said at a press conference, “waiting to be arrested and prepared to be led away in handcuffs”. He described himself as a victim of open political repression and a patriot preparing for political imprisonment. Eventually, after receiving a summons in the evening, he went to the prosecutor’s office himself, leaving Parliament surrounded by his family and several Fidesz MPs. The whole process was live-streamed on Viktor Orbán’s Facebook page.

Fidesz’s floor leader, János Bóka said that that they would seek “legal, political, and financial redress” against those involved in the proceedings against Hankó. Fidesz politicians have unanimously been talking about a show trial and the Tisza Party’s authoritarian governance.