The office's task will be to uncover abuses of public assets over the past 20 years, investigate corruption and the concealment of assets, support criminal proceedings and use all legal means to reclaim illegally acquired public wealth, Magyar sais in his inaugural address.

The office, he said, would not be a political tool under government control but would operate as an independent, autonomous state body, accountable solely to parliament.

Its independence, professionalism and transparency were essential, he said, arguing that "justice can only be credible if the institution itself stands on the rule of law."

He said the office would investigate the system of public procurements, concession contracts, public assets siphoned into foundations overpriced state investments, the misuse of European Union funds, financial structures linked to the central bank, the flow of TAO subsidies, private equity funds and offshore schemes.

It would also look into "any transactions suspected of harming public assets, abuse of office, embezzlement, money laundering, budget fraud or the concealment of assets", he added.

Magyar: Asset recovery bill to be among first ones submitted

The bill on the National Asset Recovery and Protection Office will be among the first ones to be submitted by the new Tisza Party government, Prime Minister Peter Magyar said after his election at the first session of parliament on Saturday.

In his inaugural address, Magyar justified the move by saying that Hungarians deserved to know how the power structures of past decades had operated, and the decisions that had led to "a significant portion of the nation's common wealth being concentrated in the hands of a narrow political and economic elite".

He said Hungarians had a right to know "how public funds became private wealth, how state assets turned into political influence, how public procurement became a feudal system and how concessions became privileges".

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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