Police launched an investigation into the Everyone's Hungary Movement (MMM) receiving billions in funds from abroad, the daily Magyar Nemzet writes. The fact that MMM has received foreign funds was acknowledged in an interview by none other than its leader Peter Marki-Zay, the opposition's former prime ministerial candidate. The investigation was ordered by Hungary's National Bureau of Investigation (NNI) on suspicion of embezzlement and money laundering.

Istvan Tenyi, a private citizen known for picking up issues of public interest, has filed a complaint with the Budapest Office of the Prosecutor General concerning the suspected foreign funds, as V4NA also reported earlier. The prosecutor’s office forwarded the documents to the Budapest Police Headquarters (BRFK), from where the files were sent to the National Bureau of Investigation (NNI). As authorities requested an amendment to the complaint, on Monday, the National Police Headquarters informed our paper that Riot Police National Bureau of Investigation launched an investigation against an unknown perpetrator on suspicion of embezzlement and money laundering.

As is known, in a podcast airing late in August Peter Marki-Zay, the failed former prime ministerial candidate of Hungary’s opposition alliance, disclosed that “even in mid-June, hundreds of millions of (Hungarian) forints in funding arrived from the United States”.

He also said that the US foundation Action for Democracy had sent the money in one sum, but added that they had received other monies from the organisation, and that the sources had arrived from US donors. In an earlier video interview with Magyar Nemzet, Mr Marki-Zay explained that the rules of party financing do not apply to their movement, as MMM is not a party, and it has never acted like one. He opined that unlike parties, his organisation was entitled to accept foreign donations, and denied having spent the US funds during the election, on the election campaign.

What we were conducting, with the support of the Action for Democracy and others, was a campaign to change Hungarian culture, Mr Marki-Zay stated, opining that it is not a loophole that, as a prime minister candidate enjoying the support of all left-wing parties, his organisation has campaigned on foreign funds during the election period. The politician also confirmed that some of these funds were channeled to former Socialist PM Gordon Bajnai’s DatAdat company.

Police have also launched an investigation into DatAdat’s „peculiar” data management practices, a scandal that erupted during the election campaign.