Ever since the outgoing Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán, lost the election, there has been panic among his close associates. Those who have become rich have gone on the run, writes "The Guardian", they are rapidly transferring their assets abroad.
Private planes allegedly loaded with the "booty" of those whose fortunes grew during the reign of the until recently Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban are constantly flying out of Vienna, while others rush to invest their property abroad, writes "The Guardian".
Meanwhile, officials close to Orban are considering options to obtain US visas.
That's a fraction of the turmoil that has taken hold Hungary as the victors prepare to turn away from Orbán's way of governing. Since taking power in 2010, a small circle of associates linked to him and his Fidesz party have amassed vast wealth, thanks in large part to increasing control over the country's economy and the public infrastructure contracts he finances EU.
Since the election, three members of Orbán's inner circle have started moving their assets abroad, the Guardian writes. Wealth is transferred to countries Middle East - Saudi Arabia, Oman and the UAE - while others have Australia and Singapore in mind, said two Fidesz sources.
Peter the Hungarian, whose opposition Tisa party won a landslide election victory this month, sounded the alarm, accusing those linked to Fidesz of racing to protect their wealth before his government takes power in early May.
"Oligarchs connected to Orban transfer tens of billions of forints to the United Arab Emirates, the United States, Uruguay and other distant countries," the Hungarian wrote on social media. He urged the attorney general, police chief and tax chief to "arrest criminals" and "not allow them to escape" to countries where extradition is unlikely.
The Hungarian said that among those expected to leave the country is the family of Lorinc Mesaros, one of Orbán's closest friends, whose path from gas fitter to the richest man in Hungary was partly paved with public procurement contracts.
"I have also been informed that several oligarch families have already left the country. According to reports, several influential oligarch families have already withdrawn their children from school and are arranging reliable security for their departure," the Hungarian added.
The race to move wealth abroad was first reported by independent journalists in Hungary, including investigative media outlet Vsquare, which said key figures linked to Orbán were aiming to protect their assets before the Hungarian government could freeze, seize or nationalize them, and news site 444.hu, which claimed in March that key figures were already moving assets to Dubai.
Their efforts could be thwarted by many bureaucrats and law enforcement officials who have partial knowledge of everything that happened during Orbán's rule, Vsquare noted, as the stage is set for efforts to "recover stolen public assets and arrest those who committed financial crimes."
Since the election, the Hungarian has repeatedly said that his government will work to combat the corruption and cronyism that, in his view, characterized Fidesz's years in power.
"Our country has no time to lose. Hungary is in trouble in every way. It has been robbed, betrayed, indebted and destroyed. We have become the poorest and most corrupt country in the EU," the Hungarian told reporters the day after the election.
The incoming leader has repeatedly claimed that potentially incriminating documents were destroyed in the last weeks of Orbán's rule.
"We are receiving more and more reports of large-scale destruction of documents from various ministries, related institutions and companies close to Fidesz," Magyar wrote on social media earlier this month.
The outgoing foreign minister, Peter Szijroto, whose ministry was among those accused of destroying classified documents, described the allegations as "preposterous" and "scandalous". The ministry said it "simply discarded previously printed, redundant paper versions of documents that were stored electronically."
Source: The Guardian
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