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Orban allies rush to move assets abroad after election defeat

28.04.2026 09:30
Associates of outgoing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban are scrambling to transfer wealth overseas following his April 12 election loss, with prime minister-elect Peter Magyar accusing regime-linked oligarchs of fleeing accountability.
FILE PHOTO: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban arrives to address supporters after the announcement of the partial results of parliamentary election in Budapest, Hungary, April 12, 2026.
FILE PHOTO: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban arrives to address supporters after the announcement of the partial results of parliamentary election in Budapest, Hungary, April 12, 2026. REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo

Private jets carrying the fortunes of beneficiaries of Orban's 16-year rule have been departing regularly from Vienna, while others are rapidly investing assets abroad, the Guardian reported.

Three members of Orban's inner circle have moved holdings to Saudi Arabia, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore and Australia, the paper said, citing Fidesz party sources.

Magyar on Saturday named the UAE, United States and Uruguay as destinations for asset transfers, and said Hungary's tax authority NAV had blocked several transfers linked to Antal Rogan, a close Orban ally who was previously placed on a U.S. sanctions list on corruption charges.

Magyar called on national institutions to detain those who "caused damage to Hungary worth billions of forints" and warned investors against acquiring assets "linked to the mafia". Several government-connected families have already left Hungary, he said, with others withdrawing children from schools in preparation to leave — among them relatives of Lorinc Meszaros, one of Hungary's wealthiest men and a close Orban confidant.

Hungarian independent outlets VSquare and 444 reported that the asset movement began as early as March, before the elections, driven by fears of potential seizure or nationalization by an incoming Magyar government.

Magyar also warned of widespread document destruction.

"We are receiving more and more reports of large-scale document destruction by various ministries, institutions and companies close to Fidesz", he wrote on social media in April.

Senior Fidesz figures are also seeking U.S. work visas, hoping to leverage their expertise at institutions linked to the Republican Party, according to sources in the U.S. administration and within Fidesz. Hungarian investigative journalist Szabolcs Panyi said the U.S. had long been seen as a fallback option.

"As long as Donald Trump's administration is in power, the United States could become a safe haven for the top echelons of Orban's regime", he told the Guardian.

Orban himself is expected to travel to the United States for the opening of the men's FIFA World Cup on June 11, a Fidesz source told the paper. His eldest daughter and son-in-law relocated to New York last summer.

(jh)

Source: PAP