Key facts
- Hungary's foreign ministry filed a criminal complaint over suspected fraud in 2020 ventilator deals.
Hungary's foreign ministry has filed a criminal complaint with prosecutors over suspected fraud related to the previous government's purchase of approximately 17,000 ventilators from China in 2020. The deal, worth about $965 million, is under scrutiny for inflated prices and surplus units.
The investigation into the large-scale ventilator procurement during the pandemic highlights potential corruption and mismanagement of public funds, raising questions about accountability and the handling of critical resources during a health crisis.
Hungary's foreign ministry has filed a criminal complaint with prosecutors over suspected fraud related to the previous government's purchase of approximately 17,000 ventilators from China in 2020. Foreign Minister Anita Orbán stated that the investigation into the ventilator purchase raises suspicions of breach of fiduciary duty and other criminal offenses. The deals, worth about $965 million (300 billion forints), are under scrutiny for inflated prices, surplus units, and the involvement of intermediary companies that saw exponential revenue increases. Some of the acquired ventilators were reportedly defective and never deployed, incurring millions in storage costs. The investigation involved tens of thousands of documents, some of which were recovered after unsuccessful attempts to delete them, raising questions about the responsibility of the ministry's former senior leadership. Former Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, who oversaw the ventilator purchase and has since taken an executive position with Chinese automaker BYD, has faced accusations of conflict of interest.
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