Hungary proposes law to reveal owners of private‑equity funds handling billions of public money

The Hungarian government has submitted an 110‑page draft law aimed at increasing transparency of private‑equity and closed‑end investment funds that have received at least 2.6 trillion forints of public money in recent years. The bill redefines "beneficial owner" to include any natural person who directly or indirectly holds 25 % or more of voting rights or equity, or who exerts control through privileged shares or other mechanisms, and applies retroactively to ownership structures as of February 2020.

The legislation also amends procurement, conflict‑of‑interest and anti‑money‑laundering rules, and lowers the investor‑approval threshold for state‑controlled investors from 75 % to 60 %. This would allow the Magyar Fejlesztési Bank (MFB) to strengthen its position in funds where it has invested roughly 800 billion forints and potentially replace managers linked to political figures such as Lőrinc Mészáros and Tiborcz István. Transparency International Hungary welcomed the increased disclosure but warned that recovering misused public assets will remain a complex task.