On the video, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban holds a smartphone in his hand and points to a text message with a link. "This is how Ukrainian cyber frauds do it," he comments. "Click and your money is gone."
This is 1 of Viktor Orban's anti-Ukrainian posts. It warns against alleged Ukrainian criminals who would bargain Hungarian money if they click on the link in the text message. Under the movie Orban on Facebook and TikToku you can find hundreds of mocking or angry comments.
"You cheat even without clicking" wrote many people to Orban. individual suggests respective seasonal ideas: "Summer attacks the UV radiation of Ukrainian origin, winter snowstorm from Ukraine impedes movement". any complain about advanced inflation and mediocre wellness care systems. There are inactive MNB letters and the number: 500 billion and emoticons of anger.
Giant bank robbery
500 billion Hungarian forints, or the equivalent of about EUR 1.25 billion, is simply a immense sum that has been played in 1 of the largest state corruption and fraud scandals in Hungary since Viktor Orban came to power in 2010.
The money has disappeared from the assets of the Hungarian National Bank (MNB), and in short it can be called a gigantic bank robbery. 2 major players in this process are erstwhile MNB CEO György Matolcsy, who held office until March 2025, and his boy Adam. The second has lived in luxury for years.
Since March this year, a full scale of scandal has emerged and it seems to be becoming 1 of the turning points in the Orban system. In the eyes of many Hungarians, this scandal reflects the degree of corruption and the immorality of this system. It is public funds that no organ has investigated over the years, shameless nepotism and open conflicts of interest.
It is besides about the undeserved luxury life of the children of Orban's confidants, while many Hungarians barely make ends meet. There is simply a large social aversion to the luxurious life of ruling elites.
They flow in luxury
The missing billions from MNB initially went to the foundation founded by erstwhile MNB president Matolcsy after he took office in March 2013. They then disappeared in the network of related companies owned or operated by his 39-year-old boy Adam and respective of his friends. The money was utilized to conduct dubious transactions concerning property and shares. A large part of them allegedly disappeared as a consequence of failure of value and decline in share prices.
Regardless, the wealth of the cliques grew. With Hungarian diplomatic passport, Adam Matolcsy, who has abandoned business school in Budapest, has luxury cars, luxury watches and luxury apartments in Budapest and Dubai, and travels the planet by private plane. The Hungarian public calls specified descendants of organization friends, trustees or oligarchs of the Hungarian Prime Minister "playboys Orban".
Investigations by the Court of Auditors
As Minister of Economy and Head of the National Bank, Adam Matolcsy's father was 1 of the architects of Orban's "unconventional" economical policy. However, in fresh years he has fallen into disfavor with an autocrat from Budapest due to the fact that he criticised any of his government's economical activities. Since his MNB mandate expired in March 2025, the Hungarian State Audit Chamber (ASZ) has been investigating the missing billions.
ASS remains under Orban's control and does not check loyal supporters of the head of government, but erstwhile even she states that 500 billion forints have been lost, it sounds like an authoritative confession that any members of the Fidesz organization and Orban's oligarchs insolently and illegally enrich themselves. Especially outrageous is the fact that they display their luxury.
It's not a single case.
However, it is not a fewer individual cases. An example is Orban's school friend, Lörinc Meszaros, a erstwhile gas station monter in Felcsut, a tiny household village of the Prime Minister who is now a multibillionaire and richest Hungarian. It is sometimes referred to as the "Orban wallet" or its "figurer" and is known for being frequently and willingly travelling in luxury private jets.
There are besides organization friends of Orban, specified as Antal Rogan, the minister of the chief of government's law firm, who went to the front pages of the newspapers many years ago erstwhile he and his then wife flew on a luxury chopper wedding. The description "Luxury Toni" stuck to Rogan, partially due to the fact that he and his spouses repeatedly attracted attention with luxury outfits, any of which cost respective times more than the average Hungarian yearly salary.
Viktor Orban himself on paper has no savings and is co-owner of a home in Budapest and a farm in his native village Felcsut. All the more affluent is his family: Orban's father had the old princely property turned close his native village into a immense private residence for Orban's family. The Prime Minister's son-in-law, Istvan Tiborcz, is simply a developer of luxury properties and 1 of the richest Hungarians. However, the Prime Minister himself has repeatedly stressed that "it has nothing to do with business affairs".
Image harm to the ruling party
Disgusting about luxuries and luxury goes hand in hand with anger over the mediocre state of public infrastructure. For example, on Saturday, June 7, railway services from Budapest to Lake Balaton suffered a temporary breakdown due to a failure of the barrier. This was 1 of many chaotic situations in Hungarian rail transport. Many Hungarians one more time realized what was fundamentally bad in the country: for example, that many hospitals and schools are in a dire state.
The contrast between the different realities of life of the Orban elite and the general public for the first time in many years besides leads to critical debates in the ruling Fidesz party. Tibor Navracsics, erstwhile comrade of Orban, and now Minister of Administration and Development, said in 1 of the podcasts that the luxurious lifestyle of Orban's elites harms the image of the party.
This is not the only critical voice within the governing party. Orban himself reacts, adding increasingly absurd lies to his anti-Ukrainian run over the past weeks. The latest is that Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenski calls on the European Union to rise energy prices in Hungary.
It is actual that Brussels has no authority to do so. Nevertheless, in a video released on Facebook, Orban puts words in the mouth of Zelenski, which he never said: "The Ukrainian president speaks of drawing money out of the pocket of Hungarians so that he can proceed his war more effectively".
