PM Orbán’s strongman, Minister Rogán’s name illegally removed from US sanctions list? Top Dem Sens demand explanation

Top Democratic Senators Jeanne Shaheen (North Hampshire) and Elizabeth Warren (Massachusets) demand answers as to how Minister Rogán’s name could be removed from the US Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) List without proper explanation. Until they receive answers, they regard the move as unlawful.

Rogán removed from the list slowly

We wrote earlier this week that Minister Antal Rogán, one of Orbán’s strongest ministers responsible for government communication and the intelligence services, has been removed from the US Treasury’s SDN list. He was added to the list during the last days of the Biden administration for “orchestrat[ing] schemes designed to control several strategic sectors of the Hungarian economy.” In THIS article, we wrote about his role in, for example, the so-called residency bond business. The Orbán cabinet said then that the addition was only Biden’s desperate revenge on the government.

After Trump’s victory, and knowing about his good relationship with PM Orbán, every political analyst said he should be quickly removed from the list if Trump and Orbán had such a strong relationship as government-close media showed. However, the mills of God ground slowly, and nothing happened for months. Finally, Rogán’s name was removed from the list this week. HERE we wrote what his addition meant.

Unsatisfactory explanation

According to the USA, the reason for the removal was that keeping Rogán on the list was no longer in the interests of Washington’s foreign policy. In an interview later this week, Orbán said the Americans did not require anything in return. He also praised Rogán and suggested he was irreplaceable in the government structure. He added that he has met with Rogán every day since he has a discussion with his two top ministers, Rogán and Gergely Gulyás, at 7.30 AM.

However, the US State Department’s explanation for Rogán’s removal from the SDN list did not satisfy two top Democratic senators. Jeanne Shaheen and Elizabeth Warren believe Marco Rubio and his ministry violated the Magnitsky Act since they did not provide proper reasons. “Secretary Rubio’s reported justification for the delisting does not adhere to the criteria set by Congress in statute,” they wrote. “Until he has taken the proper steps to justify his move to Congress, this action is illegal”, the two senators added.

Still corrupt in Washington’s eyes?

Szabolcs Panyi, a Hungarian investigative journalist who shared the relevant Politico newsletter on his Facebook page, raised attention to the fact that the Americans, based on their reasoning, did not say that Rogán was corrupt or not corrupt. They just said that keeping him on that list no longer aligns with the interests of the USA. Panyi added that it might happen that Rubio would send a detailed explanation. But in that case, he would violate the Magnitsky Act by not sending that document 15 days before the decision. Panyi suggested that Rogán’s sanction scandal would not be concluded but that it might remain on the table.

Senator Shaheen is the ranking Democrat member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Senator Warren is the ranking Democrat member of the Senate Banking Committee.

Read also:

• Donald Trump’s high expectations for PM Orbán: Buy American arms and gas, curb Chinese deals – read more HERE
• Orbán is optimistic: Results of Hungary–US negotiations to be felt within 6 months