Hungary Orban-era graft cases may take years: official

Hungary's new government is reviewing suspected corruption from Viktor Orban's years in power, but its new top anti-graft official has warned that major convictions could take many years.

Anna Unger told a parliamentary confirmation hearing it would be "foolish to think" there would be final verdicts in major corruption cases within her six-year mandate. Her warning drew criticism from some supporters of Prime Minister Peter Magyar, who won April's parliamentary election on promises to fight graft after 16 years of Orban's rule.

Since taking office in May, Magyar's government has launched internal reviews in ministries and state companies. A government website lists 24 cases referred to investigators, involving around six billion euros in taxpayers' money.

Police have opened probes including one into the purchase of 12,000 toy motorcycles for around 40 euros each, and another into a roughly 1.5-billion-euro Eximbank loan to Egypt's state rail operator for carriages produced through a Hungarian-Russian partnership. Prosecutors are also investigating alleged embezzlement within the National Cultural Fund.

Magyar has brought Hungary into the European Public Prosecutor's Office, strengthened rules on politicians' asset declarations and created the National Asset Recovery and Protection Office, headed by Unger. Viktor Orban has denied wrongdoing, and his party portrays the anti-corruption campaign as political retribution.