First charge filed in the "golden convoy" case — it targets the former head of TEK. Hungarian press describes his phone calls with Orbán during the raid

In late June, the Hungarian Central Investigating Prosecutor's Office charged János Hajdu, until recently the head of the counter-terrorism center TEK, with seven counts of unlawful detention connected to the torture of detainees. This is the first formal charge in the so-called golden convoy case. The independent Budapest outlets 444, Telex, and HVG simultaneously report on witness testimonies according to which Hajdu was repeatedly in phone contact with then-Prime Minister Viktor Orbán during the March raid, and on a leaked prosecution file that names Orbán among the key decision-makers. For Slovak readers, this is the first criminal reckoning with the apparatus of Orbán's state since he was replaced in May by the government of Péter Magyar. 444 ↗

What happened in March

The raid took place on March 5 at a rest stop on the M0 highway near the village of Alacska, close to Budapest. The target was two vehicles belonging to Ukraine's state-owned Oschadbank, which were transporting cash and gold from Vienna to Kyiv. Hungarian authorities seized assets worth 27 billion forints — 35 million euros, 40 million dollars in cash, and nine kilograms of investment gold — and did not return them to Ukraine until months later, after the April elections. Világgazdaság ↗

According to the prosecution's statement, Hajdu gave the order the day before to stop the transport and detain the Ukrainians as criminal suspects. The commando unit laid seven people down on the ground at the rest stop, handcuffed them behind their backs, and put fabric over their heads to block their view. Even though the NAV tax authority shortly afterward classified the detainees as witnesses rather than suspects and repeatedly requested that their handcuffs be removed, Hajdu kept them restrained for at least nine hours — according to the prosecution, in handcuffs even while sleeping, and with the blindfolds used in a manner that degraded human dignity. This is precisely the core of the torture charge. 444 ↗

What 444 reports

The independent outlet 444, which has been uncovering the case from the start, published testimonies from "eyewitnesses" according to whom Hajdu made several phone calls to Orbán during the detention. Prosecutors are therefore seeking access to his phone to determine who he communicated with that day. The daily Telex went even further — according to its sources, Orbán himself decided on the raid against the convoy, and even the timing came from the government, which the Constitution Protection Office confirmed to the outlet as well. Telex ↗

An internal prosecution document from June 9, obtained by 444, also points to Orbán. It names four people as "those who made the key decisions or gave the instructions": former Prime Minister Orbán, former state secretary for national security Örs Farkas, former deputy president of the tax authority Tamás Demeter, and Hajdu. Orbán has not yet been formally charged, and the prosecutor general's office has neither confirmed nor denied the document's authenticity. Hungarian Conservative ↗

What differs from Slovak coverage

Slovak and Czech media have covered the case only in brief wire reports — that Magyar is pressing the prosecution and that a Ukrainian lawyer proposed detaining Orbán. The Hungarian press has a reconstruction based on witness testimonies from two heads of the tax authority, a phone-call trail, and a leaked file. It also adds the other side of the story — Orbán himself has reacted defiantly on Facebook. "The Tisza political reckoning has begun," he wrote, calling Hajdu "a model for everyone who loves their homeland." Less than a day after the interrogation, he appointed him as Fidesz's security director, with the message: "Whoever wants to intimidate us should get up earlier." Telex ↗

Pro-Orbán media such as Magyar Nemzet and Világgazdaság frame the case as the Magyar government's hunt for Orbán's confidant. Ukrainian lawyer Lóránt Horváth, who represents Oschadbank and all seven detainees, sees it exactly the opposite way — according to him, Orbán and three others should have been detained, and the fact that only the general was charged "reinforces the theory that they want to remove Orbán from the case." Euronews ↗

Limits of this account

The outlets 444, Telex, and HVG are liberal, sharply anti-Orbán media, and their reconstruction rests on leaks and testimonies from involved tax officials that have not yet been reviewed by a court. Hajdu denies guilt, has appealed the charge, and remains free. The phone calls with Orbán are so far testimony, not a call record — and it is precisely that record the prosecution is trying to obtain. Paradoxically, Prosecutor General Gábor Bálint Nagy is still an Orbán appointee who rejected Magyar's call for his resignation and maintains that the government cannot give him instructions. The same prosecutor's office thus faces accusations from two sides at once — Fidesz accuses it of political revenge, Ukrainians accuse it of shielding Orbán. The court has not yet ruled on anything, and the former prime minister has not been charged. VSquare ↗

What hotinfo is following

We are watching whether the prosecution gains access to Hajdu's phone and call records, which are meant to verify the testimonies about contact with Orbán. It remains an open question whether Örs Farkas, Tamás Demeter, or the former prime minister himself will also become formal suspects. We will be following closely how Hajdu's appeal against the charge turns out and whether Fidesz turns the case into an opposition narrative about "political persecution." Also open is the outcome of Oschadbank's criminal complaint for abuse of power and terrorism. HVG ↗

Also read: Hungary investigates raid on Ukrainian "golden convoy" · Prosecution examines Orbán's role in the convoy case