Hungary launches criminal probe into Eximbank over suspected abuses

Hungarian authorities have opened a criminal investigation ​into alleged abuses at state-owned Eximbank, ​police said on Tuesday, ‌in the ​latest step by Prime Minister Peter Magyar's government to probe alleged corruption under the former administration. Police are investigating four ‌Eximbank cases on suspicion of abuse of office and mismanagement, including a €1 billion ($1.2 billion) loan to North Macedonia, following a July complaint from the economy ministry based on an audit ‌of the bank.

Investigators on Monday seized thousands of pages of internal ministry documents to ‌support the probe, according to a police statement. "These are documents obtained during the internal investigation, which provide additional data for the investigation of the reported acts," the statement said.

Eximbank, which was overseen by ⁠the foreign ​ministry until responsibility was ⁠transferred to the economy ministry in June 2022, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Magyar, ⁠who ended former Prime Minister Viktor Orban's 16-year rule in an April election, has pledged ​to crack down on what he says was widespread corruption under the previous government. ⁠Orban has denied the allegations.

In July, the economy ministry referred four Eximbank-related cases to police, including the ⁠North ​Macedonia loan, which carried a 3.25% interest rate and a full state guarantee. Magyar said at the time the loan may have diverted funds intended to support ⁠Hungarian businesses to bolster a foreign political ally and potentially benefit companies close to ⁠the former government.

Another case ⁠concerns an African infrastructure project for which Eximbank and the state-owned Hungarian Development Bank provided a 126 billion forint ($398 million) financing guarantee, Magyar ‌said. ($1 = 0.8624 ‌euros)

($1 = 316.5200 forints)