Hungarian police have arrested the younger brother of former prime minister Viktor Orbán on suspicion of influence peddling and involvement in people smuggling, local media reported on Monday.
Authorities have taken four suspects into custody and are seeking their pre-trial detention, police said late on Monday.
The statement did not name the suspects, but Hungarian media identified Áron Orbán as one of those detained.
The reports cited details of the alleged offences released earlier by Hungary’s new anti-corruption authority, NVVH, which is investigating the case alongside police.
Áron Orbán is suspected of having used false pretences and his political influence to obtain visas for Vietnamese migrant workers in exchange for benefits from employment agencies, according to the reports.
Many of the Vietnamese nationals, who allegedly paid thousands of euros for the visas, are believed to have travelled on to other EU countries.
Hungarian visas allow travel within the Schengen area, which includes most EU countries and generally has no internal border controls.
The news website Kontroll, owned by Prime Minister Péter Magyar’s brother, had earlier reported arrests and searches in connection with the case, saying Áron Orbán was among those affected.
Magyar subsequently referred to reports of an arrest on suspicion of people smuggling in a Facebook post.
Former premier claims political persecution
Viktor Orbán, who lost April’s parliamentary elections, confirmed that authorities had taken action against his younger brother.
“I am the target, my younger brother is merely the means,” he wrote on Facebook.
Orbán accused the government of playing a “dirty political game” aimed at eliminating political opponents and establishing one-party rule.
Independent media had been investigating Áron Orbán’s alleged visa dealings for some time.
However, action by authorities against the alleged activities had been considered unlikely before the change of government in May, when Orbán was succeeded by Magyar.