Hungary’s Ongoing Struggles with Corruption and Crime

A Troubling Picture Emerge from Recent Reports

The situation in Hungary has raised concerns about the country’s fight against corruption, organized crime, and human trafficking. A closer look at recent reports highlights several pressing issues that need attention.

Corruption: A Systemic Problem

• The risk of corruption within the justice system is moderate to high, with bribes and irregular payments influencing judicial decisions.
• Political interference in judicial matters is a serious concern, with the ruling elite forcing 400 judges into retirement and staffing the Constitutional Court with politically influenced judges.

Organized Crime: A Lack of Transparency

• A law-enforcement unit dedicated to combating organized crime exists, but there is no information on its effectiveness.
• The Coordination Centre Against Organized Crime (CCAOC) is mandated to analyze emerging trends, but there are no statistics or case studies available to demonstrate its effectiveness.

Money Laundering: Ineffectual Efforts

• Hungary has a robust anti-money-laundering framework in place, adhering to international standards.
• However, authorities have failed to make full use of the tools at their disposal in money-laundering investigations.

Human Trafficking: Insufficient Support

• Human-trafficking victim-assistance services remain scarce and uncoordinated, despite efforts to advance victim support.
• A national anti-human-trafficking strategy for 2020-2023 was adopted, but several problem areas remain, including victim-identification mechanisms that do not apply to victims without a legal residence.

Media Freedom: Under Threat

• The media landscape is deteriorating year-on-year, with media ownership becoming increasingly concentrated in the hands of oligarchs tied to the prime minister.
• Critical outlets are being closed down, and editorial independence is threatened.