Former Hungarian culture minister Balazs Hanko arrested

A former minister in the cabinet of former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban was detained on Tuesday on charges of misusing funds at the National Cultural Fund (NKA), a body overseen by the culture ministry.

Former culture minister and current member of parliament Balazs Hanko was taken into custody late Monday at the National Tax and Customs Administration, after lawmakers voted to lift his parliamentary immunity. Hanko has denied any wrongdoing.

In July, police raided the offices housing the internet servers of Hungary’s main opposition party, Fidesz, in connection with “misuse and other criminal acts” at the NKA. Prosecutors opened criminal proceedings after accusations by several individuals that the NKA channeled billions of forints in state grants to artists and organizations with ties to Fidesz through a non-transparent allocation process. Those involved denied any wrongdoing.

“As a result of an ongoing investigation … into the criminal offense of unlawful appropriation … the prosecutor’s office took member of parliament Balazs Hanko into custody and questioned him as a suspect,” prosecutors wrote in a statement on Tuesday.

“My conscience is clear, this is a political show trial,” Hanko said in a video streamed live on Orban’s Facebook page before his arrest.

The Hungarian anti-corruption body, established by Prime Minister Peter Magyar as part of his anti-corruption campaign, has announced the first four cases it intends to address. Miklos Sesztak, who served as minister for national development in Orban’s cabinet between 2014 and 2018, was also arrested on Monday as part of a suspected bribery investigation. Sesztak denies wrongdoing.