Hungary probes state bank over Orbán-time €1bn loan to North Macedonia
Hungarian police have opened a formal criminal investigation into suspected abuses of office and mismanagement at the state-owned Hungarian Export-Import Bank, known as Eximbank. The probe, announced on Tuesday, centers on four cases referred by the Ministry of Economy and Energy after an internal audit uncovered irregularities dating from the previous administration. Investigators seized thousands of pages of internal ministry documents on 31 August to support the inquiry. These materials, gathered during the ministry’s own review, are expected to provide additional evidence concerning the reported acts.
The cases were first flagged in July when the economy ministry, acting on audit findings, filed criminal complaints with police. Eximbank, which supports Hungarian exporters and international projects, was overseen by the foreign ministry until responsibility shifted to the economy ministry in June 2022. The bank has not issued an immediate public response to the investigation. The inquiry represents one of the most significant early actions by the government of Prime Minister Péter Magyar, who defeated Viktor Orbán in the April election and ended Orbán’s 16-year tenure. Magyar has repeatedly pledged to confront what he describes as systemic corruption under the prior government; Orbán has denied the accusations.
Assisting Micsoski, a political ally
Central to the probe is a €1 billion general-purpose loan extended to North Macedonia. The credit carried an interest rate of 3.25 percent and was backed by a full guarantee from the North Macedonian government. Magyar has publicly argued that the arrangement may have redirected resources intended to assist Hungarian businesses toward supporting a foreign political ally, Hristijan Mickoski, and potentially benefiting commercial interests connected to the former Hungarian administration. Mickoski assumed the premiership in North Macedonia shortly before the loan discussions advanced.
The financial agreement originated in mid-2024. Negotiations reached an understanding on 11 July during the NATO Summit in Washington. North Macedonia’s government approved the necessary draft legislation on 3 September, parliament adopted a special law authorizing the borrowing on 17 September, and the finance ministries of both countries signed the agreement on 8 October, releasing an initial €500 million tranche. Reporting has suggested that the funds may have been linked to a larger €1 billion loan that Hungary itself secured earlier in 2024, with some accounts describing the arrangement as facilitating external financial influence in the Western Balkans. Magyar has characterized the terms as more favorable than those typically available to Hungarian firms or even the rates at which the Hungarian state itself borrows for major domestic projects.
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These details form part of a broader pattern of scrutiny. The ministry’s complaints allege that public resources meant to bolster domestic economic activity were instead deployed in ways that raised questions of political favoritism and inadequate oversight. Police are examining the transactions under suspicions of abuse of office and related financial misconduct.
Other contested financing arrangements under review
Three additional deals form the remainder of the investigation. One involves approximately 59 billion forints, equivalent to roughly €161 million, connected to the Sofitel hotel and a company associated with the business interests of István Tiborcz, Orbán’s son-in-law. According to accounts provided by Magyar, Eximbank reached its decision on the financing in only two days, a timeline that allegedly breached the bank’s own internal procedures. The ministry has filed a complaint citing possible embezzlement and other offenses.
A second case concerns a financing guarantee of 126 billion forints, about €344 million to €398 million, extended by Eximbank and the state-owned Hungarian Development Bank for an African infrastructure project. The project, linked to the Hungarian construction firm Duna Aszfalt, envisioned an expressway connecting Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Magyar has highlighted the dual involvement of two state financial institutions as warranting closer examination.
The third matter involves a 176 billion forint loan, nearly €480 million, related to a project by the Dunakeszi Vehicle Repair Company in Egypt. The Egyptian state railway company reportedly received the financing from Hungarian state sources. Together these four cases represent a substantial volume of public exposure and form the core of the current criminal proceedings.
The National Bureau of Investigation under the Rapid Response Police is handling the inquiry. The seizure of ministry documents marks a concrete escalation from the July complaints. Magyar’s government has also advanced legislation to create a new anti-corruption authority and has taken initial steps toward joining the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, signaling a wider institutional response to the issues raised by the Eximbank audit.
The investigation remains in its early stages. No charges have been filed against specific individuals, and the full scope of any potential wrongdoing will depend on the evidence contained in the seized records and further investigative work.
Sources: Daily News Hungary, Reuters, TVP
Hungary launches probe into controversial €1 billion loan to North Macedonia
Caption: A handout photo made available by the Hungarian PM’s General Department of Communication, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (R) receives Northern Macedonian Prime Minister Christian Mickoski in the government headquarters in Budapest, Hungary, 30 March 2026. EPA/AKOS KAISER