World News
Hungary files criminal complaint over $965 million pandemic ventilator deal
The foreign ministry alleges potential breach of fiduciary duty and fraud in China procurements made under Viktor Orbán's former administration.
The short version
- Hungary's foreign ministry has submitted a criminal complaint to prosecutors over a $965 million purchase of roughly 17,000 ventilators from China during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- A ministry probe into tens of thousands of documents found potential breaches of fiduciary duty, noting many units were defective, never used, or bought via middleman companies that saw revenue spikes.
- The procurements were supervised by former Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, who recently stepped down from Parliament to accept an executive position at Chinese automaker BYD.
- It remains uncertain whether prosecutors will press formal charges or name specific former officials as targets in the investigation.
Key facts
- Hungary's foreign ministry filed a criminal complaint with prosecutors alleging potential fraud and breach of fiduciary duty regarding a 2020 ventilator deal worth approximately $965 million.[Associated Press · ABC News]
- The purchase of roughly 17,000 Chinese ventilators was conducted under former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's government during March and April 2020.[Associated Press · ABC News]
- Foreign Minister Anita Orbán stated that investigators had to use digital recovery tools on documents that former officials attempted to delete.[Associated Press · ABC News]
- According to a Hungarian government statement, a significant portion of the devices were never deployed, some were defective, and storage costs totaled millions of dollars.[Associated Press · ABC News]
- Former Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó oversaw the ventilator and vaccine transactions and recently resigned from Parliament to take an executive role with Chinese firm BYD.[Associated Press · ABC News]
What remains uncertain
- Foreign Minister Anita Orbán did not detail specific criminal allegations against individuals, and prosecutors have not announced formal charges.[Associated Press · ABC News]