Hungary’s Opposition Presses For Answers In ‘World’s Biggest Bank Robbery’ Amid Court-Tax Decree Backlash (Worthy News Investigation)

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief reporting from Budapest, Hungary

BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Hungary’s main opposition leader is demanding answers over 650 billion forints ($2 billion) in disputed funds linked to foundation structures created by the Hungarian National Bank (MNB), branding the case “the world’s biggest bank robbery.”

Péter Magyar said Friday he wants a personal meeting with Hungary’s chief prosecutor to ask why “no one is in custody” in connection with the central bank foundation case.

He stressed that Hungarians “have the right to know” why there have been no arrests in what he called “the world’s biggest bank robbery case.”

The controversy dates back to 2014, when the MNB, under then-Governor György Matolcsy, established foundations to promote financial education, economic research, scholarships, and academic programs. Over time, the structures were consolidated into the Pallas Athéné Domus Meriti (PADME) foundation.

Through affiliated asset-management entities, the foundations invested heavily in Hungarian and foreign real estate and corporate holdings.

HUNGARY STATE AUDIT OFFICE FILES COMPLAINT

Hungary’s State Audit Office (ÁSZ) announced in 2025 that it had filed a criminal complaint citing serious irregularities in asset management. Police confirmed an investigation into a suspected breach of fiduciary duty against an unknown perpetrator.

No senior official has been publicly charged.

Media investigations have reported that companies linked to the former governor’s son received significant contracts tied to foundation-related projects.

Matolcsy has rejected allegations of asset loss and previously stated that foundation wealth remained intact and exceeded 500 billion forints (about $1.6 billion) in value.

Matolcsy was long regarded as a key economic ally of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, having served as economy minister before being nominated twice by Orbán to lead the central bank. However, relations cooled in recent years after Matolcsy publicly criticized government economic policies before his term ended in 2025.

ORBÁN INVOKES EMERGENCY POWERS OVER TAX

Orbán also faces scrutiny over his decision to invoke emergency powers to terminate a lawsuit brought by Budapest over the so-called “solidarity contribution” tax imposed on municipalities.

Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony criticized the move, saying it undermines judicial independence because the executive branch is itself a party to the dispute.

The government has defended the tax as lawful and necessary.

The European Union has withheld billions of euros in funding for Hungary, citing rule-of-law concerns, including alleged financial irregularities and government interference in the judicial system.

Magyar’s phrase about the MNB’s alleged involvement in the “world’s biggest bank robbery” appears rhetorical, analysts say.

NO PHYSICAL THEFT ALLEGED

There has been no allegation of a physical theft, such as masked individuals driving away with piles of cash.

Instead, critics argue that public funds were transferred into complex foundation structures that reduced transparency and oversight.

By scale, the $2 billion figure places the Hungarian case among major international financial controversies, though its legal outcome remains uncertain.

For comparison, in 2003, nearly $1 billion in cash was removed from the Central Bank of Iraq under orders attributed to Saddam Hussein shortly before the U.S.-led invasion—often cited as one of the largest literal bank robberies in modern history.

Malaysia’s 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal involved an estimated $4.5 billion allegedly misappropriated from a state investment fund, triggering global investigations and convictions. In Germany, the financial technology company Wirecard collapsed after revealing that 1.9 billion euros ($2.10 billion) in reported assets likely did not exist, promptingcriminal prosecutions.

ASSETS CONTROVERSY STILL IN FOCUS

Unlike those cases, Hungary’s controversy centers on whether central bank foundation transfers and investment decisions constituted criminal misconduct or controversial—but legal—asset management, analysts say.

For now, the investigations continue, and political pressure is mounting over whether accountability will follow.

The mounting scrutiny over the central bank foundations and the municipal tax dispute comes ahead of Hungary’s parliamentary elections on April 12, with opinion polls suggesting Orbán, 62, faces his toughest challenge since returning to power in 2010.

According to the 21 Research Center, the opposition center-right Tisza Party, led by 44-year-old Magyar, is polling at 35 percent, ahead of the governing right-wing Fidesz-KDNP alliance at 28 percent.

With his party trailing in the polls, U.S. President Donald J. Trump publicly endorsed Orbán on his Truth Social platform.

TRUMP BACKS ORBÁN

“I proudly supported Viktor in the 2022 elections, and it is an honor to do so again,” Trump wrote Thursday, calling Orbán “a true friend, a fighter and winner,” and praising his hardline stance on illegal migration.

Trump has a history of supporting conservative allies abroad. In January, he sent a letter to Orbán suggesting he might visit Hungary ahead of the elections, though no date has been set.

Orbán said this week that he hopes to “lure” Trump to Hungary and added that Budapest could host a future summit involving the United States, Russia, and Ukraine if peace negotiations advance.

Orbán is widely regarded as the European Union’s most Russia-friendly government leader, despite facing strong opposition at home and criticism abroad.

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