Hungarian authorities detain ex-PM Viktor Orbán’s brother for suspected human trafficking

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Hungarian police detained Áron Orbán, brother of former PM Viktor Orbán, for alleged human trafficking involving 100+ Vietnamese nationals.

Former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s younger brother was taken into police custody on Monday, the new prime minister said, part of a probe into suspected human trafficking and influence peddling committed while the elder Orbán was still in office.

The move was part of a comprehensive push by Prime Minister Péter Magyar’s new government to unearth suspected corruption and abuses of office committed by Orbán’s far-right administration and associated business circles during his 16 years in power.

Magyar, whose center-right Tisza party defeated Orbán in a landslide election in April, has called the effort “Operation Cleansing Fire.”

Several Orbán-era officials, including the former governor of the Central Bank, are already in police detention on suspicion of fraud and corruption crimes.

Hungarian police said in a statement Monday that they made arrests and carried out house searches in four separate locations in and around the capital, Budapest, and had employed the assistance of Hungary’s Counter-Terrorism Center since the presence of firearms was expected at two of the scenes.

The arrest of four individuals was part of a joint investigation by the National Bureau of Investigation and the newly formed National Asset Recovery and Protection Office.

The investigation centers on the alleged use of political connections to arrange expedited work permits for foreign nationals in exchange for lucrative payments.

Police said the four individuals, who are all suspected of “human trafficking committed in a criminal conspiracy for financial gain,” had facilitated Hungarian residence permits for more than 100 Vietnamese nationals in 2024, most of whom had aimed to leave Hungary for countries in Western Europe.

One of the suspects is alleged to have engaged in influence peddling in the acquisition of the residence permits.

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