Hungary has filed a criminal complaint against Szijjártó over his use of private planes
Hungarian Foreign Minister Anita Orbán has filed a criminal complaint against her predecessor, Péter Szijjártó, and his team for using expensive private jets for trips abroad. According to her, over the past four years, officials have regularly opted out of commercial flights.
Anita Orbán stated that the organization of trips for Péter Szijjártó and his delegation showed no consideration for saving budget funds.
“Starting in 2022, they systematically switched to using chartered private flights or military aircraft for the minister’s (Szijjártó) and his delegation’s trips,” the minister stated.
Anita Orban noted that the documents and audit results show that between 2022 and 2026, such overseas trips cost nearly six times more than comparable business-class flights on commercial airlines.
According to her, the difference amounts to approximately 4 billion forints, or $12.6 million.
“Thus, the facts uncovered give grounds to suspect the misuse of funds, which caused significant damage, and also call into question the responsibility of the ministry’s former leadership,” Orban added.
The criminal complaint filed by Anita Orban marks another step by the new Hungarian government as part of its anti-corruption campaign following Péter Magyar’s rise to power.
At the same time, Magyar’s predecessor as prime minister, Viktor Orbán, denies the allegations of corruption.
His spokesperson, Bertalan Havasi, told Reuters that Péter Szijjártó’s flights fully complied with the requirements of the relevant government decree.
“In recent years, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has organized overseas trips with exemplary efficiency. Therefore, Péter Szijjártó deserves praise, not politically motivated attacks,” Havasi said.
Anita Orbán’s criminal complaint concerns the possible misuse of public funds. The final legal assessment of these circumstances is to be made by Hungarian law enforcement agencies and the courts.
This was reported by Reuters.
Hungarian police will investigate a case involving the possible acceptance of a bribe by former Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó. If found guilty, he could face up to three years in prison.
Hungary has officially established the National Asset Recovery Agency, which will be responsible for locating and recovering state funds that were illegally misappropriated in previous years. The new agency is one of the key anti-corruption reforms of Prime Minister Péter Magyar’s government following his victory in the parliamentary elections.
