Hungary Moves to Create Anti-Corruption Office

On Friday, Hungary's government submitted a bill to parliament to establish a National Office for the Protection and Recovery of Assets. The agency would be tasked with uncovering the misuse of public assets, investigating alleged corruption under the previous government and helping recover assets unlawfully removed from public ownership.

Prime Minister Peter Magyar and his Tisza party, which ended Viktor Orban's 16-year rule in the April election, had pledged to create the office. Magyar has argued that corruption has cost Hungary 8%–10% of gross domestic product (GDP) in recent years.

The new office would be granted extensive powers. It would automatically investigate companies that derive more than 75% of their revenue from public procurement, examine the unlawful acquisition of assets and the misuse of public funds, and have access to tax records, contracts, electronic data and bank accounts belonging to entities under investigation. Its investigations could lead to criminal prosecutions, asset recovery proceedings or civil lawsuits. The agency would operate independently of the government and be accountable to parliament.

(Reuters, bak)