Hungary Files Criminal Complaint Over $965M COVID-19 Deal, Citing Possible Fraud

Hungary’s foreign ministry has filed a criminal complaint with prosecutors over what it says was possible fraud related to the previous government’s purchase of ventilators worth some $965 million during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The complaint, filed by Foreign Minister Anita Orbán, relates to the purchase of approximately 17,000 ventilators from China in March and April 2020. The deal drew criticism at the time for being excessively costly and for purchasing more ventilators than could be realistically deployed in the country.

In a video posted to Facebook, Foreign Minister Orbán stated that the results of a ministry investigation into the purchase ‘raises suspicions of breach of fiduciary duty causing particularly substantial financial loss and other criminal offenses.’

While Foreign Minister Orbán did not detail specific allegations, she noted that the investigation involved tens of thousands of documents, some of which had to be recovered using digital tools ‘after unsuccessful attempts to delete them.’ The investigation also raised questions ‘about the responsibility of the ministry’s former senior leadership.’

Key Allegations and Irregularities

The Hungarian government’s website released a statement pointing to other suspected irregularities related to the ventilator procurement, including that most of the units were purchased through intermediary companies that saw their revenues rise exponentially due to the transaction.

Some of the ventilators were found to be defective, and a significant proportion of them was never deployed. Storage costs for the unused devices ran into the millions of dollars.

Former Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, who oversaw the purchase of the ventilators as well as the procurement of 5 million doses of the China-produced Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine, cultivated close ties with China during his nearly 12 years in office.

Last month, Szijjártó resigned his seat in Parliament to take an executive position with Chinese automaker BYD, prompting accusations of a conflict of interest due to his role in facilitating substantial government subsidies given to the company while in office.

Hungary’s government later launched an investigation into large investments into Hungary made by BYD during Szijjártó’s tenure.

Background and Timeline

The ventilator purchase was made by the previous government under former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who is not related to the current Foreign Minister Anita Orbán.

The ventilators were purchased in March and April 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when many countries were scrambling to acquire essential medical equipment.

The purchase drew widespread criticism at the time, with many questioning the high cost of the ventilators and the decision to purchase more units than could be realistically deployed in the country.