Hungary’s new Prime Minister Peter Magyar has launched an anti-corruption operation named “Purifying Fire,” responding to growing impatience among Hungarian citizens over the slow pace of investigations.
Hungary, alongside Bulgaria, ranks as the worst-performing country in the European Union according to the NGO Transparency International, dropping from 50th to 84th place after 16 years of Viktor Orban’s government. Orban’s family and close associates have amassed immense wealth through significant public contracts.
A new anti-corruption agency has just been established, tasked with recovering misappropriated public assets. Corruption is estimated to have cost Hungarians between 8% and 10% of the gross domestic product in recent years.
However, authorities emphasize that prosecuting those responsible will take time.