Hungarian police have launched investigations into the companies of one of the country's leading media figures, which had benefited from lucrative contracts during Viktor Orban's government, under suspicion of embezzlement and money laundering.
The police statement, made late Tuesday, came after Gyula Balasy, the owner of several major media companies that have designed government campaigns for Orban for more than a decade, announced that he had offered to hand over his firms and some of his investments to the state, as the new government of Peter Magyar prepares to take office.
Balasy said he offered his companies to the state “not because I have something to hide or because we have done something illegal or wrong.” He also added that the accounts of some of his companies were frozen last Monday.
According to authorities, the investigations were initiated following information received from the special unit of the tax authority NAV, announcing that a case for embezzlement and money laundering had been opened "against an unknown perpetrator."
"These procedures include an investigation into matters related to the group of event organization companies, which were revealed by the managing director himself in the media," the police announced, referring to an interview Balasy gave to the news website Kontroll.
"During the investigation, funds have been seized and accounts have been frozen," the statement further said.
Meanwhile, Peter Magyar, whose center-right Tisza party ousted Orban after 16 years in power in last month's election, is expected to be sworn in as prime minister on May 9. He has promised to crack down on corruption and "restore stolen state assets."
On April 28, Magyar stated that tax authorities in Hungary had blocked transfers of funds abroad by unidentified individuals linked to a senior Orban aide.
Balasy's companies designed Orbán's anti-Ukraine election campaign, which presented the April vote as a choice between war and peace, as well as a series of other anti-immigration campaigns, winning hundreds of contracts from the National Communications Office.
According to Transparency International, in the period 2019–2021 alone, Balasy's companies – Lounge Design, New Land Media and Media Dynamics – have benefited from state contracts worth a total of around $960 million, mainly from the National Communication Office, which was responsible for Orban's campaigns and played a key role in winning the previous elections.
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