Key facts
- A raid on a Budapest data center linked to Hungary's Fidesz party occurred on July 21.
- The raid is part of an investigation into alleged irregularities at the National Cultural Fund, suspected of unlawfully awarding grants.
- Former PM Viktor Orbán claims the probe is politically motivated and aimed at seizing Fidesz servers.
- Legal experts state there is no current evidence that the investigation breaches the rule of law or human rights standards.
- Prosecutor General Gábor Bálint Nagy announced his resignation, effective August 25, 2026.
Conflicting narratives have emerged in Hungary following a raid on a data center linked to the ruling Fidesz party, which is part of a wider corruption investigation. Former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has accused the judiciary of conducting a politically motivated probe to seize the party's servers and render it legally unviable.
The Bács-Kiskun County Prosecutor's Office stated the operation was connected to alleged irregularities within Hungary's state-run National Cultural Fund, specifically concerning the unlawful awarding of over 1,000 grants totaling more than 17 billion forints (€47 million).
Orbán, speaking after the July 21 raid, described the investigation as a "pretext" to seize Fidesz's servers and called it a "politically motivated legal proceeding." His claims were amplified by international political allies, including France's Marine Le Pen and Italy's Matteo Salvini, who voiced support for Fidesz and accused Hungarian authorities of violating the rule of law.
Balázs Orbán, a former political director for Viktor Orbán, echoed these sentiments, telling Euronews' fact-checking team, The Cube, that the seizure was an attempt to obtain sensitive party information and exert political pressure, rather than a genuine corruption investigation.
However, the prosecution office countered that the volume of data and the party's lack of cooperation necessitated the seizure of storage devices. Legal experts Tamás Lattmann and Daniel Hegedüs, speaking to The Cube, indicated that the actions taken so far appear to comply with Hungarian law and European human rights standards. Lattmann suggested that Orbán's accusations should be viewed as political communication, not indicative of a rule-of-law crisis, while Hegedüs noted that the justice system seemed to be acting as an independent body investigating alleged violations.
Adding to the political context, Prosecutor General Gábor Bálint Nagy announced his resignation on July 22, stating that the prosecution service should not be used for political power games. His departure was welcomed by Hungary's new Prime Minister Peter Magyar, who defeated Orbán in a recent election and has pledged to dismantle what he calls a "mafia system."