BUDAPEST, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- A Hungarian court on Wednesday ordered the arrest of former minister Miklos Sesztak suspected of bribery. Meanwhile, prosecutors sought the arrest of another former minister, Balazs Hanko, in a separate case involving alleged misuse of public funds.
The Buda Central District Court ordered Sesztak, a lawmaker from the Christian Democratic People's Party (KDNP), to be held for 30 days, according to the Budapest-Capital Regional Court.
Sesztak, who served as national development minister between 2014 and 2018, is suspected of accepting more than 12 billion forints (about 37 million U.S. dollars) in unlawful payments in several cases involving state contracts.
The Hungarian parliament voted on Monday to lift Sesztak's parliamentary immunity, clearing the way for criminal proceedings against him.
In a separate case, the Bacs-Kiskun County Chief Prosecutor's Office said Wednesday it had requested the arrest of Hanko, a Fidesz lawmaker and former culture and innovation minister, and another suspect over alleged misuse of funds from Hungary's National Cultural Fund (NKA).
Prosecutors said that between September 2025 and March 2026, NKA assets were misused in 1,079 cases, causing an estimated 17.3 billion forints (about 53.7 million dollars) in losses to the central budget. Hanko and the other suspect were taken into custody on Monday.
Reacting to Sesztak's arrest, Prime Minister Peter Magyar called the decision a "milestone in the history of Hungarian justice," saying it was the first time since Hungary's democratic transition in 1990 that a former cabinet minister had been placed under arrest. ■
