Orban accuses Hungary prosecutors of using graft case to seize Fidesz data

Hungary's former prime minister Viktor Orban accused prosecutors of using a corruption investigation as a pretext to seize databases belonging to his Fidesz party.

The prosecutor's office told AFP it had no other option than to seize the data after what it described as a lack of cooperation from the data's proprietors.

Authorities have opened a probe into the state-run National Cultural Fund after Orban was ousted from power in April elections by pro-EU conservative challenger Peter Magyar. Independent media outlets allege that the fund acted as a state-run payment centre for Fidesz's inner circle and as a shadow campaign fund.

Prosecutors suspect the fund's decision-making body issued 1,079 grants worth more than 17 billion forints, or $54 million, in violation of funding rules. On Tuesday, prosecutors raided a data centre that hosted Fidesz party servers as part of the investigation.

Speaking outside the party's headquarters, Orban said the case was being used to take Fidesz's servers. He described the proceedings as politically motivated and said they were intended to make Fidesz legally unviable after its election defeat. He also said it was a problem if a political party's server was seized by a government led by a rival political force.

County prosecutors said they could not copy the electronic evidence at the scene. Spokeswoman Marianna Bodo said the size of the data and the lack of cooperation meant the material could not be copied on site, so prosecutors decided to seize the data storage devices.

Bodo confirmed that a seventh suspect had been detained. Fidesz identified that person as a former government official and a staff member for the party's parliamentary group. Six people accused of embezzlement have been in custody since last month, including Fidesz politician Balazs Bus, who served as the cultural fund's vice-president.

Magyar's government has passed anti-corruption measures and introduced constitutional term limits that bar Orban from running again. Magyar is also seeking to remove top state officials he accuses of being puppets, including former president Tamas Sulyok, who was forced out by a constitutional amendment on Sunday.

Fidesz has called Magyar's moves autocratic. Orban posted a declaration of resistance on Facebook late Tuesday, calling Hungary's political system illegitimate and promising to use peaceful means to oppose what he called authoritarianism.