Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar announced on social media that Áron Orbán, the brother of former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, had been detained. He is suspected of involvement in human trafficking and illegal visa schemes.
The official also posted a photograph of his predecessor’s brother firing a pistol near a house. According to Europa Liberă, the report appears to have originated on Kontroll, a news website owned by Peter Magyar’s brother, Marton.
Former Prime Minister Orbán called his brother’s arrest “a dirty game,” accusing the government of trying to eliminate its political opponents.
“I am the target. My brother is just a pawn,” the politician wrote on Facebook.
Like other members of his family, Áron Orbán established several successful businesses while his brother was in power.
Last year, investigative journalists linked one of his companies to an alleged visa facilitation scheme that offered foreign nationals preferential access to Hungarian work permits.
Áron Orbán’s company allegedly enrolled Vietnamese citizens in a two-day first aid course at the University of Pécs, which could have made it easier for them to obtain Schengen visas. Áron Orbán also intervened to speed up the processing of their applications.
Police said several people had been detained in Budapest and two other cities, adding that searches were being carried out and investigations were ongoing.