"It has been nearly two weeks since the Hungarian people scored a landslide victory over the system of national complicity," the Tisza party leader said.

He added that the incoming Tisza government was working full steam to govern and build a functioning, humane Hungary.

"In the meantime, the mafia is not sitting idle in the background," he said. "Orban's oligarchs are transferring tens of billions of forints to the United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, the United States and other distant countries...

I have precise knowledge that the national tax authority [NAV] has suspended several high-value transfers linked to [cabinet office minister] Antal Rogan's circle based on reports from banks that suspect money laundering."

Magyar called on NAV to immediately freeze the stolen funds and on the public prosecutor, the national police chief and NAV's chief to take into custody the "criminals who have defrauded the Hungarian people of many thousands of billions of forints" and not to let them flee to countries from which there is currently no extradition agreement.

"Members of the Orban mafia have also begun selling off TV2 and other media outlets at below-market prices," he said. Lounge Event Ltd, "the flagship of Rogan's hundred-billion-forint hate propaganda machine", was also for sale, he said, urging "honest domestic and foreign investors to refrain from acquiring assets belonging to the mafia."

Otherwise, they may find themselves being held accountable by the National Asset Recovery and Protection Office being set up by the new government, he warned.

Magyar said that several "oligarch families" had already left the country, and the family of Orban-linked entrepreneur Lorinc Meszaros was also flying to Dubai in the coming days.

"According to reports, several influential oligarch families have already taken their children out of school and are organising trusted security details for their departure."

"It seems that after the brave captain, Viktor Orban, abandoned the sinking ship, the ground has become hot under the foot soldiers' feet as well," he said.

He went on to call "all police, prosecutors, bank, and tax authority leaders, as well as the heads of the security services, to fulfil their legal obligations and prevent criminals from fleeing and the assets stolen from the Hungarian people from being siphoned abroad."

Anyone who fails to fulfil their legal obligations and violates their oath of office is themselves committing a crime, he noted. "The will of the Hungarian people and their verdict on the mafia are clear," he declared.

"Orban's puppets and enablers must face up to their own responsibility ... for assisting in the destruction and plundering of Hungary, in moral, legal, and financial terms."

Magyar said that there were no "minor" or "major culprits" in these cases. "There is no difference among those who have stolen the Hungarian people's forints. Everyone who was a link in the chain must face the consequences," he added.

"We will uncover the crimes, we will recover the assets, and anyone who has unjustly enriched themselves with the Hungarian people's money will be held accountable before the independent Hungarian judiciary," Magyar concluded.

Magyar: Outgoing government rejects 90-day freeze on suspicious transfers

Prime Minister-elect Peter Magyar said on Wednesday that Viktor Orban's outgoing government had rejected his call for a decree to extend the suspension period for transfers suspected of money laundering from a few days to up to 90 days, leaving the national tax authority (NAV) without the power to block such transactions for longer.

In a Facebook post from Brussels, the Tisza Party's leader reported receiving multiple alerts that "oligarchs and politicians" close to the current Orban government were attempting to siphon billions of forints to South America and Asia.

Magyar is in Brussels for talks with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and President of the European Council Antonio Costa.

Magyar also disclosed that the government, at Orban's behest, had scrapped a rule requiring the finance minister's approval for ministry spending and commitments.

"This means ministries can now splash out billions to cronies before the change of government," he said.

"We're talking tens of billions - possibly hundreds of billions of forints -- while a caretaker government should have no such power," he added.

Addressing Orban directly, Magyar warned: "We know what you're doing. Everyone involved in these deals -- those who made the decisions, or those who failed to stop them - will be held accountable."

Meanwhile, Magyar called securing billions in EU funds for Hungarians, businesses, and the country a top priority for his party and Hungary. The most urgent is the Recovery and Resilience Facility, worth 10.4 billion euros -- 6.5 billion in non-repayable grants and 3.9 billion in low-interest loans.

"Every EU country has received these funds except Hungary, due to Orban's industrial-scale corruption," he said.

The deadline to access the funds is Aug 31.

Experts have been working for weeks to unlock the funds, but political decisions were now needed, he said.

"Negotiations are progressing well, with constructive engagement from EU institutions and member states. Everyone understands how critical this is for Hungary," Magyar noted.

To access the funds, Hungary must meet strict conditions, some already fulfilled, but new legislation and coordinated project work are required to restructure, audit and ensure transparency in existing projects, the incoming prime minister added.

MTI Stock Photo

Source: MTI – Hungary’s national news agency since 1881. While MTI articles are usually factual, some may contain political bias, and readers should be aware that such content does not reflect the position of XpatLoop, which is neutral and independent.

Since the goal of XpatLoop is to keep readers well briefed, right across the spectrum of opinions, MTI items are shared to ensure readers are aware of all narratives within the local media.

XpatLoop believes in empowering readers to form their own views through complete and comprehensive coverage. To facilitate this XpatLoop has a balanced range of news partners, as you can see when you surf around XpatLoop.com

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