Hungary's Parliament voted on Monday to lift the immunity of Prime Minister Peter Magyar and two former ministers from Viktor Orban's nationalist government.
The decision allows prosecutors to pursue separate criminal investigations against the three figures.
The vote followed a request from prosecutors and a specific appeal from Magyar, who faces a theft investigation and sought to clear his name from what he called "character assassination."
Legislators overwhelmingly supported lifting the immunity, while Orban's Fidesz party and its ally KDNP boycotted the session.
Cases Against the Three Officials
Magyar is under investigation for an incident at a Budapest nightclub in June 2024, where prosecutors say he took a mobile phone from a man filming him and threw it into the Danube River.
"This case is a sham," Magyar said, accusing prosecutors of attempting "to conflate" his case with those of the former ministers in a "political character assassination...
which has already failed several times."
Balazs Hanko, a former Minister of Culture and Fidesz legislator, is accused of embezzling over 40 million euros ($46 million) in public funds.
Prosecutors claim the funds supported the 2026 parliamentary election campaign and benefited individuals personally.
Miklos Sesztak, former Minister of National Development and KDNP lawmaker, faces allegations of accepting more than $37.2 million in bribes linked to vehicle procurements by Hungary's state bus company and other state construction projects.
Both ministers deny any wrongdoing.
These cases arise less than six months after Magyar's Tisza party ended Orban's 16-year tenure with a landslide election win.
Magyar campaigned on fighting corruption, restoring rule-of-law measures, and repairing Hungary's relationship with the European Union.
His government has prioritized combating alleged corruption and overpriced public procurement, including plans to establish a new asset-recovery office to address wrongdoing from the Orban era.
