Former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's brother arrested in Hungary in human trafficking investigation

Hungarian authorities have arrested Áron Orbán, 49, younger brother of former ultra-conservative Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, as part of an investigation into human trafficking. The current head of the Government, Péter Magyar, confirmed it this Monday in Berlin: Áron Orbán is one of the four arrested in an operation by the National Asset Protection and Recovery Office (NVVH) and the police. Investigators suspect that, for several months in 2024, the group helped Vietnamese citizens reach Europe. In exchange, he charged them a commission when they processed the visa at the Hungarian diplomatic headquarters in Vietnam.

The operation has included searches of homes in Budapest and the nearby towns of Fót and Dunakeszi. The agents have arrested four people: three men and one woman. Two of the arrests were carried out by the anti-terrorist unit, since investigators suspected that there could be firearms in those homes.

The authorities have not revealed the identity of those detained, but the Hungarian magazine HVG has published photographs of Áron Orbán arriving in a police car at a Budapest detention center, and Magyar himself has later confirmed that he was among those arrested.

According to investigators, the detainees shared the money from the commissions, in a plot that could have led to the entry of more than 100 migrants into Hungarian territory. The police suspect that the four committed a crime of human trafficking in a criminal organization for profit. In addition, the NVVH has questioned one of the men as the alleged instigator of a crime of influence peddling. In September, this office had already included the sale of political contacts to obtain residence and work permits among the first four cases it was going to investigate.

Viktor Orbán, who during his mandate (2010-2026) championed one of the most restrictive immigration policies in Europe, has responded on Facebook that his brother's arrest is political revenge. "In this dirty game, the objective is to eliminate the political adversary and establish a one-party system. The objective is me, my little brother is just an instrument," he wrote.

Magyar created the National Asset Protection and Recovery Office after defeating Orbán in the April elections, which ended 16 years of rule by the Fidesz party. The office investigates accusations of corruption during that stage, which Orbán denies, and is the centerpiece of the new Executive's anti-corruption campaign, baptized by Magyar as Operation Purgatory.