Today, Hungarian authorities announced that they have initiated an investigation against opposition politician Péter Magyar, due to suspicions of foreign funding of his campaigns, which have been particularly critical of Viktor Orbán’s government.
There has been no immediate comment from Magyar, a 43-year-old lawyer and former close collaborator with the government, who founded a movement in February accusing the government of corruption and has organized mass protests against Orbán.
The investigation against Magyar was announced by the head of the new Sovereignty Protection Authority, an institution established by the government in December to monitor what it calls indications of foreign influence on Hungarian politicians.
Human rights activists, American and European officials have criticized the Authority and the law establishing it, stating that both the Authority and the law could be used to suppress dissent. Anyone found guilty of receiving prohibited foreign funding could face up to three years in prison.
“Based on suspicions of attempts to finance from abroad, the Sovereignty Protection Authority has initiated an investigation,” said the head of the Authority, Tamás Lantos, in the pro-government newspaper Magyar Nemzet.
Lantos stated that the investigation was launched following a report by Magyar Nemzet that the party of Magyar has ties to companies that have connections with the former socialist prime minister, Gordon Bajnai, who lives outside of Hungary.
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Magyar denied the report in a post on his Facebook yesterday and said that he has not been in contact with Bajnai.
Magyar founded his movement publicly accusing the government of extensive corruption, which manages the central propaganda apparatus.
Orbán’s officials reject the allegations.
Magyar, who has taken over an inactive party called Tisza (Respect and Freedom), tours the countryside trying to gain support for his election campaign.
His party participates in the European elections in June, and it will be the first test for the former government official to challenge the nationalist leader.
Polls show that Magyar can gather about 13% of the votes, while support for the ruling Fidesz party remains mostly unchanged at over 45%.
