Áron Orbán, the younger brother of former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, was arrested on Monday on suspicion of people smuggling and corruption.
Police detained four people—three men and one woman—in coordinated raids in Budapest, Fót and Dunakeszi on Monday morning. The National Bureau of Investigation (NNI) and the National Asset Recovery and Protection Office (NVVH) led the operation with support from the Counter-Terrorism Centre (TEK) and Europol. Officers used TEK units at two locations where they anticipated firearms might be present. HVG photographs showed Áron Orbán arriving at Budapest's Gyorskocsi Street detention facility in a police car on Monday evening.
Investigators suspect the group helped more than 100 Vietnamese nationals obtain visas through Hungarian diplomatic missions over several months in 2024, charging each a "recruitment fee" that they divided among themselves. The applicants claimed they would attend short training courses in Hungary, but police say most did not attend and failed to leave before their visas expired. Their actual goal, investigators say, was to use Hungary as a route to Western Europe. During searches at four locations, police seized documents, electronic data and other evidence.
The NNI suspects all four of people smuggling committed as part of a criminal organisation for financial gain. The NVVH has additionally questioned one man on suspicion of influence peddling as an instigator, saying he allegedly invoked political connections to seek an unlawful advantage from the head of a labour recruitment company. In return, he allegedly promised to arrange the company's reinstatement on the register of priority employers. The description matches the case involving Áron Orbán, though officials did not name him.
Viktor Orbán accused the new government of "political persecution" and said the arrest aimed to "divert attention" from other issues. "I am the real target. My younger brother is simply being used to get to me," he wrote on X. He called the case a "political witch hunt" that uses tactics of the "communist-era secret police" to eliminate opponents.
The arrest follows Prime Minister Péter Magyar's landslide victory in April, which ended Viktor Orbán's 16 years in power. Magyar had promised to investigate his predecessor's alleged corruption and abuse of office. News site Telex previously linked Áron Orbán to visa schemes for guest workers in a 2025 investigation based on a leaked recording of him discussing applications with a government official. The news was first reported by Kontroll, a site owned by Magyar's brother.
