According to a report by The Guardian, private jets have been regularly departing from Vienna, allegedly carrying the wealth of individuals who prospered during the rule of Viktor Orbán.
The British newspaper, citing unnamed sources linked to Hungary’s ruling party, reported on Sunday that these flights are part of an effort by members of the political and economic elite to relocate their assets abroad.
Assets reportedly moved to the Middle East and beyond
Sources told The Guardian that some individuals are “rushing” to invest their wealth overseas, while certain former high-ranking figures in Orbán’s government are exploring opportunities to obtain US visas. These efforts are reportedly driven by hopes of securing positions within institutions associated with the political movement of Donald Trump.
The report claims that since Hungary’s parliamentary election on 12 April, three members of Orbán’s inner circle have already begun transferring their wealth abroad.
Two sources with ties to the ruling party told the newspaper that assets are being moved to countries such as Saudi Arabia, Oman and the United Arab Emirates, while others are reportedly targeting Australia and Singapore as preferred destinations.
Plans for extended stay in the United States
Another source described as having links to the outgoing governing party told The Guardian that Orbán is expected to travel to the United States around the start of the upcoming FIFA World Cup, where he may remain for several weeks.
According to the same source, the trip had been planned well before the election, which resulted in victory for the Tisza Party led by Péter Magyar.
While the exact location of Orbán’s stay in the United States remains unclear, the newspaper notes that his daughter and son-in-law relocated to New York last summer.
If you missed it: Why would outgoing PM Orbán stay in the United States for a prolonged time?
UPDATE: Tax authority responds to claims of suspicious transfers
Hungary’s tax authority, National Tax and Customs Administration (NAV), has reacted to claims by Péter Magyar that large sums linked to figures close to Antal Rogán may have been transferred abroad under suspicious circumstances, 24.hu reported.
Magyar, leader of the Tisza Party, said in a video statement that he had been informed that several high-value transactions associated with businessmen in the government’s orbit had been suspended following alerts from banks over suspected money laundering. He urged authorities to immediately freeze what he described as “stolen funds” and called on law enforcement leaders to take action.
In response to media inquiries, NAV said it could not comment on specific cases due to strict confidentiality rules governing financial investigations.
However, it confirmed that financial institutions such as banks are legally required to report transactions that raise suspicion of money laundering or links to criminal activity.
In such cases, the reporting institution must simultaneously suspend the transaction, including the transfer of funds abroad, for up to seven working days. During this period, NAV’s anti-money laundering unit conducts an operational analysis, which may be extended if necessary.
The authority added that the results of such investigations can only be shared with competent bodies and strictly for the purposes of combating financial crime.
According to NAV statistics, the number of suspended transactions has risen sharply in recent years, increasing from 1,063 cases in 2022 to 3,185 in 2025. No data has been released regarding measures taken after the April election.
If you missed it: Péter Magyar: previous PM Orbán’s close circle saving EUR ten millions abroad
The rot, the absolute corruption and theft of the money of the people of Hungary is stupendously huge and the perpetrators have done everything to cover-up their crimes. They are taking everything they can. They have brainwashed millions of Hungarian fools into thinking a band of the most corrupt thieves in Hungarian history are “Patriots”. That is what a years long monopoly of media and hyper-propaganda can do. Tisza needs to be relentless in uncovering the truth of what these people did and what they continue to do. The justice system needs to be reformed and prosecutions need to take place. It will take years and years to go through the shit-pile that Fidesz has left behind.
Agree with every word.
It’s one of the greatest political coups in history that an organised crime syndicate successfully sold themselves to the Hungarian electorate as protectors while mercilessly looting the country for their own benefit. Now they’re fleeing like cockroaches ahead of the arrival of pest control. They didn’t condemn the country to poverty solely due to their theft, quite frankly it wasn’t possible to steal enough while retaining plausible deniability, their greatest crime was in creating circumstances in which the EU felt they have no choice but to suspend access to funds, resulting in the permanent loss of 2 Billion Euros and 17 Billion Euros remaining frozen. History proved that without this direct and indirect subsidy, in conjunction with need to feed the NER troll the country was unable to stand on its own two feet, resulting in peeling plaster, mouldy walls, 30% of society living in deprivation and the lowest rate of personal consumption in the EU, despite a positioning in the salary rankings that would otherwise suggest a better outcome, for Hungarian incomes were not the absolute lowest in the EU.
The cars that people drive tell one a lot about a country in my opinion. Hungarians drive the absolute worst cars in the EU, often 20-30 years old with bodies held together with filler and technical exams acquired with a fist full of Forints to pay off the testing station. The cars on Romanian and Bulgarian roads are shiny and new in comparison. People tend to buy the best car they can afford in my experience so the fact that Hungarians drive such absolute s**t heaps is very revealing as to the fact that they cannot afford anything better.
It’s not for nothing that they’ve chosen to use Vienna airport as a departure point, away from the glare of Hungarian media attention. There’s very little private aviation traffic at Budapest airport, (most that existed was already connected to NER) rendering aircraft movements a conspicuous thing. Private aviation uses the decommissioned Terminal 1 which affords ample opportunities outside of the perimeter to photograph people arriving at the terminal and then getting onto planes whose registration can then be used to track their destination. At Vienna private aviation blends into a context of an altogether busier traffic pattern and one where it’s going to be hard for the Hungarian media to track departures. It’s not realistic for Hungarian photographers to lie in wait outside the private aviation terminal in Vienna, nor would I be suprised if privacy laws in Austria prevent them from taking ‘unauthorised’ paparazzi-style photos of people that don’t want to be photographed.