Hungary's parliament voted on Monday to lift the parliamentary immunity of Prime Minister Péter Magyar and two former ministers from Viktor Orbán's government, paving the way for separate criminal investigations against them.
The decision comes at a crucial political moment for Hungary, as the Magyar-led government has promised to investigate suspected cases of corruption and abuse of office during Orbán's 16 years in power.
In the case of Prime Minister Magyar, prosecutors allege that in 2024 he took the phone of a person who was filming him in a nightclub and then threw the device into the Danube River. Magyar has denied the charges and described the case as an attempt to harm him politically.
The prime minister himself had requested that his parliamentary immunity be lifted, stating that he wanted to confront the charges directly and put an end to what he has described as a campaign of “character assassination.” Parliament also voted to lift the immunity of former culture minister Balázs Hankó and former national development minister Miklós Seszták.
Hankó, currently a Fidesz MP, is suspected by prosecutors of embezzling more than 40 million euros in public funds. According to the prosecution's allegations, some of the money may have been used to finance the 2026 parliamentary election campaign and for the personal benefit of other individuals. Hankó denies the charges.
In July, authorities seized the servers of the Fidesz party as part of the investigation. Viktor Orbán has opposed the process, accusing the authorities of a politically motivated investigation aimed at damaging his party. Meanwhile, former minister Miklós Seszták, a member of Fidesz's allied party, the KDNP, is being investigated on suspicion of accepting bribes worth millions of dollars while he was minister of national development from 2014 to 2018.
The investigation is related to the purchase of used buses, which prosecutors suspect were purchased at inflated prices. Seszták denies any wrongdoing. Media reports say the Fidesz and KDNP parties boycotted the parliamentary session during which the vote took place.
The lifting of immunity came at the request of prosecutors, who last week requested that investigative procedures against the three politicians be allowed to continue. The cases mark a significant development in the political and institutional confrontation in Hungary, as the new Hungarian government has promised to investigate suspected corruption cases linked to Viktor Orbán's long rule.