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Former Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán has slammed the government after authorities detained his younger brother for suspected human trafficking.
Áron Orbán is believed to have been taken into police custody on Monday as part of a probe to unearth suspected corruption and abuses of office committed by his elder brother’s far-right administration and associated business circles during his 16 years in power.
Several Orbán-era officials, including György Matolcsy, the former governor of the Central Bank, are already in police detention on suspicion of fraud and corruption crimes.
Hungary’s current Prime Minister Péter Magyar, who defeated Mr Orbán in a landslide election in April, has dubbed the efforts “Operation Cleansing Fire”.
On Monday, Hungarian police said they made arrests and carried out house searches in four separate locations in and around Budapest and had employed the assistance of Hungary's Counter-Terrorism Centre in the actions since the presence of firearms was expected at two of the scenes.
The arrest of four individuals was part of an ongoing joint investigation by the National Bureau of Investigation and the newly formed National Asset Recovery and Protection Office.
The investigation centres on the alleged use of political connections to arrange expedited work permits for foreign nationals…
