Former adviser to Hungary’s Finance Minister wanted internationally, refuses to face trial in Hungary

A former adviser to Hungary’s Finance Minister, Béla Bukta, is under an international arrest warrant and faces prosecution for perjury. However, in the past, he was also charged with espionage and being part of a spy organisation known as Birodalom. He allegedly provided confidential information on Hungary to the United States, IMF and the Swiss Fund. Bukta has refused to face trial in Hungary, fearing he would not receive fair treatment.

Former adviser to Hungary’s Finance Minister under international arrest warrant

Telex reports that Béla Bukta, a former adviser to Hungary’s Finance Minister and a key figure in the Orbán government, is currently sought under an international arrest warrant and faces prosecution for perjury charges. Despite these accusations, Bukta, previously granted political asylum in the United States, has stated he has no intention of returning to Hungary to stand trial. Bukta’s career includes roles in the Prime Minister’s Office, the Parliament’s economic committee, and the Ministry of National Development, as well as experience with the World Bank.

Espionage and spy organisation allegations

As previously mentioned, Béla Bukta, currently residing in the United States, faces prosecution for perjury and is under an international arrest warrant. Alongside his Hungarian counterparts, Bukta was previously charged with espionage and accused of being part of a spy organisation named Birodalom (meaning ‘empire’), which allegedly spied on Hungary for the United States, the IMF and the Swiss Fund.

However, the court eventually acquitted the former adviser to Hungary’s Finance Minister and his associates of the espionage charges in a final judgment. Following this, they were prosecuted for perjury. Bukta, who left Hungary in 2019, was granted political asylum in the United States, where authorities believed he would not receive a fair trial in Hungary.

Birodalom’s spies

In a convoluted espionage case, the former adviser to Hungary’s Finance Minister and others were accused of being part of a spy organisation called Birodalom, led by M.N., who allegedly instructed Bukta to hand over classified defence documents to a US embassy officer in 2008 and disclose financial details to the IMF in 2010. The case, however, was fraught with confusion.

Before the espionage charges surfaced, M.N. was under police investigation not as a spy, but as the supposed victim of a homicide, with a theft of valuable art adding to the mystery. It later emerged that M.N. had faked his death, and the espionage charges stemmed from this bizarre sequence of events. The current perjury charges against Bukta, the former adviser to Hungary’s Finance Minister, can also be traced back to this convoluted case.

A case of increasing complexity

The case against Béla Bukta became increasingly complex when, before the espionage charges, he was suspected of involvement in an online defamation campaign against former state secretary Vilmos Vályi-Nagy. During a search of Bukta’s home, police seized an external hard drive that contained a document marked as “Confidential” from the Ministry of Defence, outlining the Hungarian Defence Forces’ ten-year strategy.

Bukta was accused of passing this document to the US Embassy on M.N.’s orders. However, the espionage case was weak, as Bukta argued the evidence had been planted on the hard drive after the fact. His defence was strengthened by evidence of police negligence, as proper procedures for handling the seized evidence had not been followed, thereby undermining the credibility of the charges.

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Featured image: depositphotos.com