Hungary’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has filed a criminal complaint over suspected fraud in the purchase of nearly 17,000 ventilators from China during the COVID-19 pandemic, Budapest announced.
The previous Hungarian executive, led by former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, acquired about 17,000 ventilators from China worth 965 million dollars (826 million euros) in March and April 2020, in an operation that raised criticism at the time because the country bought far more equipment than it could realistically use and at unit prices much higher than those paid by other European countries.
In a video posted on the social network Facebook on Tuesday, Hungary’s top diplomat stated that the results of a ministry investigation “raise suspicions of breach of fiduciary duty, causing particularly high financial losses, and other criminal offenses.”
The minister did not detail the allegations, but explained that the investigation involved tens of thousands of documents, some of which had to be recovered using digital tools “after unsuccessful attempts to erase them.”
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The findings also raise questions “about the responsibility of the ministry’s previous leadership,” added Anita Orbán, who is not related to former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
A statement published on the Hungarian government portal pointed out other suspected irregularities related to the acquisition of the ventilators, including the fact that most of the devices were bought through intermediary companies whose revenues increased exponentially thanks to the operation.
Some of the ventilators were defective and a significant portion was never used, according to the statement, which added that the storage costs for the unused equipment amounted to several million euros.
Former Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó cultivated close relations with China during his nearly 12 years in office and supervised both the purchase of the ventilators and the acquisition of five million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine produced by Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinopharm.
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In July, Szijjártó resigned his seat in parliament to take an executive role at Chinese automaker BYD, a decision that sparked accusations of conflict of interest due to the role he played, while in government, in awarding major public subsidies to the company.
The Hungarian government subsequently opened an investigation into the investments made by BYD in the country during Szijjártó’s tenure.
