Orbán's brother and associates could face up to ten years in prison, thanks to Fidesz's tightening of Criminal Code

The National Office for Asset Recovery and Protection (NVVH) suspects the former Hungarian prime minister’s younger brother, Áron Orbán and his associates of influence peddling, while the National Bureau of Investigation (NNI) is investigating them for their involvement in people smuggling.

One of them, G. B., was already arrested once, shortly after Hungary’s April elections. Although he was recently released, he was taken into custody again. According to our information, he is the one suspected of influence peddling as an instigator.

The police statement released Monday afternoon indicates that there are two investigative agencies conducting the investigation. This explains Telex’s previously received information that a Vietnamese interpreter recently testified at the NNI rather than at the NVVH. The man, working as an interpreter, reportedly had insight into the dealings of Áron Orbán and his associates. We understand that he met with Áron Orbán on two occasions and, on one occasion, accompanied the former prime minister’s younger brother and two other men to a (business) meeting in Veszprém.

In Hungary, people smuggling is punishable by imprisonment of between five and ten years if the crime is committed as part of a criminal conspiracy.

What makes this case particularly interesting is that, prior to 2010, these same crimes carried a maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment, but the Criminal Code was tightened during the Fidesz administration. Current legislation stipulates that the leader or organizer of a criminal organization involved in the smuggling of people is punishable by imprisonment ranging from ten to twenty years. For the crime of influence peddling, the standard sentence is five years, and in more serious cases, up to eight years of imprisonment may be imposed.

Telex first broke the story about Áron Orbán and his business partners back in May 2025 in an article titled “You are doing business with the Prime Minister’s younger brother. So you know what that means". We started investigating the case involving Áron Orbán’s associates of dubious background after an audio recording was leaked in which the former prime minister’s brother is heard speaking with Dávid Héjj, one of Viktor Orbán’s aides, at the Prime Minister’s Office. The audio recording revealed that Áron Orbán and his associates were involved in getting visas for guest workers, but that some of their visa applications were being blocked by the authorities.

As previously reported, four individuals were apprehended on Monday morning in Budapest, Fót, and Dunakeszi, Hungarian police said. In a joint operation of the NNI and the NVVH, a man and a woman who were living together as partners, as well as two of their alleged accomplices were taken into custody. At two of the locations, the operations were carried out by units of the Counter-Terrorism Center (TEK), as police anticipated the presence of weapons in the apartments.

According to the investigation, the four suspects helped Vietnamese citizens travel to Western Europe via Hungary over a period of several months in 2024. They are suspected of assisting with visa applications at Hungarian diplomatic missions, for which they charged a so-called “recruitment fee” and then divided the proceeds among themselves. Based on information available to the authorities so far, they may have assisted more than one hundred Vietnamese citizens.

Following Monday morning’s apprehensions, the head of the NVVH, Anna Unger declined to either confirm or deny our information. She did, however, state that the NVVH had “taken further action” in the case involving Áron Orbán and would provide more information on the matter at a later date.

That evening, authorities announced that four individuals-one woman and three men-had been questioned and taken into custody in connection with the case, as well as that the National Bureau of Investigation had initiated their arrests on suspicion of people smuggling as part of a criminal conspiracy, committed for financial gain. At the time of publication, the arrests had not been announced yet.

Although authorities have yet to name the four suspects, hvg.hu's photo journalist managed to capture Áron Orbán in one of the vehicles transporting the group to the holding facility.