Orban could have personally decided on raids and on delaying procedures. "He must take responsibility," Magyar added.

Magyar linked an article published on telex.hu on Wednesday to the post, which said that the former government and specifically Orban had decided on raiding the Ukrainian 'gold convoy' "without professional justification for the raid."

The paper cited background discussions it had held in recent weeks with sources familiar with or involved in the matter.

Money and gold belonging to the Ukrainian state-owned financial institution Oschadbank was seized by Hungarian intelligence agencies on March 5 while the shipment was transiting Hungary on its way from Austria to Ukraine.

According to a previous statement by the tax authority, the vehicles contained 40 million dollars, 35 million euros and 9kg of gold. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on May 6 that Hungary had returned the money and gold to Ukraine.

Bertalan Havasi, Fidesz's communications chief, said in response that every member of the Orban government had remained faithful to their oath of office, they had complied with and enforced the law. 

"Peter Magyar is lying. During the previous government’s term, the authorities operated lawfully, and official proceedings were initiated in accordance with the law," he said in a statement.

Later on Wednesday, the Public Prosecutor's Office said the office had no contact with "either the former or the present government" over the issue. The Office will also do everything in its power to fully clear up the case, the statement said.

The Prosecutor's Office acted upon a formal complaint from the Constitution Protection Office on March 4, the statement said.

The contents of the complaint pointed to money-laundering, so the Prosecutor's Office forwarded the documents to the tax and customs authority NAV on March 5. NAV had been the one to order the operation, the statement said.

Meanwhile,  Fidesz: 'Everyone must take responsibility for their actions'

Everyone must take responsibility for their actions, the Budapest branch of Fidesz said on Wednesday, in response to "procedures connected to certain Budapest district municipalities."

"When the suspicion arises that crimes had been committed, it is the responsibility of the authorities to conduct the procedure without bias and in line with the regulations. During the procedure, everyone must be presumed innocent until a verdict comes into force," the Fidesz group said.

On Tuesday, the Public Prosecutor's Office Investigative Office (KNYF) said they were conducting "coordinated investigations" in a corruption case linked to several Budapest districts, the so-called "Obuda corruption case" initiated on suspicion of bribery and racketeering, among other crimes.

Investigations are ongoing in several locations including district town halls, the statement said. Some 70 investigators from several law enforcement authorities are active in the procedure, which has already led to searches, seizures and arrests, it said.

According to the unconfirmed report of the 24.hu website, the authorities have also detained former Socialist lawmaker Zsolt Molnar, former Socialist politician Gergely Orsi, the mayor of the 2nd district, Csaba Gor, the leader of the Fidesz-KDNP group of the 2nd district, Zsolt Lang, the former (Fidesz) mayor of the 2nd district and Peter Puskas of Fidesz, the former deputy mayor of the 3rd district.

The 2nd district municipality confirmed that mayor Gergely Orsi's residence and mayor's office had been searched on Tuesday.

The wide-ranging investigation began in early 2023 after the prosecutor’s office launched proceedings on suspicion of corruption in connection with certain contracts awarded by the 3rd district municipality.

KNYF is suspecting that the suspects and specially designated companies entered into fictitious contracts with the local government in 2021, in return for kickbacks from the payments.

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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