Hungarian police investigate residency bond corruption allegations

The Budapest Police Headquarters has launched an investigation into the controversial residency bond program initiated by Antal Rogán in 2012. The investigation follows a complaint filed by Transparency International (TI) regarding potential official misconduct and significant financial loss to the state.

Transparency International alleges that the program, which allowed non-EU citizens to obtain Hungarian residency for fees of 250,000 to 300,000 euros, caused at least 21 billion forints in damages to the state budget. The organization claims that the parliamentary economic committee, led by Rogán at the time, failed to verify the actual owners of the intermediary companies, many of which were offshore entities. TI estimates these intermediaries may have earned approximately 60 billion forints in profit from public funds while the state incurred losses.

Related to this scheme, an investigation into a 2017 robbery at the Budapest office of Arton Capital Kft.—a major beneficiary of the bond program—remains unresolved after nine years. The robbery, which involved the theft of 200 million forints and potentially sensitive data, was noted for its professional execution, including the use of keys and security codes. The bond program, which facilitated residency for nearly 20,000 foreign citizens, was halted in June 2017.