Hungary's parliament lifts immunity of PM Peter Magyar and two Orban-era ministers

Hungary’s parliament voted Monday to strip Prime Minister Peter Magyar and two ministers from Viktor Orban’s government of their immunity, clearing prosecutors to pursue separate criminal investigations.

Magyar himself asked for his immunity to be lifted, saying he wanted to clear himself of what he called “character assassination”. Prosecutors allege that at a Budapest nightclub in June 2024, Magyar took a mobile phone from a man who was filming him and threw it into the Danube. He is being investigated for theft and has called the case a “sham”.

The votes against the two ex-ministers are the first corruption investigations against top figures from Orban’s 16 years in power. Former culture minister Balazs Hanko is accused of embezzling more than €40 million ($46 million) in public funds, which prosecutors allege was used to help finance the 2026 parliamentary election campaign and for others’ personal benefit. Former national development minister Miklos Sesztak is under investigation for allegedly accepting more than $37.2 million in bribes and kickbacks connected to procurements by the state bus company and state construction projects. Both deny any wrongdoing.

Legislators voted overwhelmingly in favour, while Orban’s Fidesz party and its ally KDNP boycotted the session. The vote followed a request last week from prosecutors.

Magyar’s Tisza party ended Orban’s 16-year rule with a landslide less than six months ago, campaigning on tackling corruption and rebuilding ties with the EU. His government has made investigating alleged Orban-era corruption and overpriced procurement central, including plans for a new asset-recovery office.