Hungarian lawmakers have confirmed Péter Fejes, a recently retired career prosecutor, as the country's new prosecutor general, a pivotal appointment in Prime Minister Péter Magyar's campaign to hold former leader Viktor Orbán and his allies accountable for alleged corruption.
In a secret ballot on Tuesday, Fejes received 139 votes in favour and six against in the 199-seat parliament, where Magyar's Tisza party holds a commanding majority. Orbán's Fidesz party and its ally KDNP boycotted the vote, underscoring the deep political divisions that remain after Orbán's 16-year rule ended.
Fejes, 65, takes office at a time when public confidence in the prosecutor's office has been severely eroded. Critics have long accused the institution of shielding Orbán's inner circle from scrutiny, and Fejes has acknowledged the need to rebuild trust. In his first remarks to parliament, he apologised for "certain decisions taken by the Public Prosecutor's Office in recent times, or its failure to act, which have justifiably and reasonably offended the public's sense of justice."
Magyar, who won the April election, welcomed Fejes's appointment with a blunt message on social media: "On behalf of all Hungarians, I wish you every success in your work. Tremble, burglars! And all other criminals too."
Restoring independence
Fejes has said he wants to place the emphasis of legal work on "being free from politics," a clear reference to the centralised and politically influenced prosecution system that developed under Orbán. His appointment follows the resignation of his predecessor, Gábor Bálint Nagy, in July after pressure from Magyar, who has promised a "regime change" and vowed to remove top officials appointed during the Orbán era.
The new prosecutor general faces an immediate test with a series of high-profile corruption cases. Three former ministers are currently in custody, including György Matolcsy, a former central bank governor and economy minister whom Orbán once called his "right-hand" man. Matolcsy was arrested last month over allegations of "economic fraud causing particularly significant financial loss," and an international arrest warrant has been issued for his son, Ádám, a suspected accomplice.
Two other former ministers have been detained since September over alleged graft that reportedly caused millions of dollars in losses to public funds. Orbán has dismissed these investigations as "politically motivated" actions aimed at imprisoning him and destroying his party.
The 'golden convoy' case
One of the most contentious episodes under investigation is the so-called "golden convoy" case. In the run-up to the April election, Hungarian security forces stopped vehicles belonging to a Ukrainian state-owned bank that was transiting the country. They detained seven employees and seized millions of dollars, euros, and gold bars. The tax authority said it was acting in a money-laundering probe, but the detainees were quickly released and the assets returned. The original case was eventually closed, and a separate inquiry was opened into alleged rights violations during the operation.
In June, the lead prosecutor in that case, Pál Furcht, resigned, alleging that his superiors had obstructed his investigation and that evidence pointed to Orbán personally ordering the operation. Lawyer Loránt Horváth, who represents both Furcht and the detained bank employees, said he hopes Fejes will examine the matter. "Our biggest concern is that the prosecutor-general's office played an active role" in the operation, Horváth told the AFP news agency.
The appointment of Fejes comes after parliament rejected President András Baka's first nominee for the post, following reports that the candidate's brother was linked to the golden convoy case. That rejection highlighted the sensitivity of the appointment and the high stakes involved in restoring the office's credibility.
Prosecutors have so far touched "only the bare minimum," Horváth said, suggesting that the full scale of alleged corruption has yet to be uncovered. Anna Unger, the country's new top anti-graft official, has warned that securing convictions could take years. A government website lists over 60 cases referred to investigators, involving billions of euros in taxpayers' money, with new cases being added regularly.
Fejes's nine-year term begins at a critical juncture for Hungary's rule of law. The new government has pledged to clean up the judiciary and prosecution service, but the challenges are immense. As prosecutors across Europe face political pressure, Hungary's efforts to rebuild trust will be closely watched both domestically and by its EU partners.
