Hungary targets alleged corruption in Orbán-era software procurement

The Hungarian government announced today that it has filed a report with the police over the suspected misuse of public funds in the procurement of educational software during the previous government led by Viktor Orbán.

Prime Minister Péter Magyar, who defeated Orbán in the April elections, has pledged a tougher fight against corruption and the establishment of an independent body to investigate alleged corrupt practices during Orbán's time in office, British media reported.

Orbán has denied any wrongdoing, CE Report quotes MIA.

Hungarian Minister for Science and Technology Zoltán Tanács said today that his ministry had reviewed IT contracts concluded since 2019 and raised concerns over the justification for spending more than 100 billion forints on educational software.

"The findings revealed a lack of competition, monopolistic systems, poor quality, as well as institutions exposed to such conditions and unreasonably high prices," Tanács told a press conference.

He added that the state had made the use of these software systems mandatory, leaving schools and institutions with no alternative.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in May that the European Union would unblock €16.4 billion in funding for Budapest that had previously been frozen due to concerns over corruption.

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