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World / Europe

Ex-Hungary central bank chief detained on fraud suspicion

Published: 24 Oct 2026 - 05:00 am | Last Updated: 23 Oct 2026 - 08:45 pm

Xinhua

Budapest: A Hungarian court on Friday ordered the detention of Gyorgy Matolcsy, former governor of the National Bank of Hungary (MNB), on suspected economic fraud and private document forgery.

The Buda Central District Court ordered Matolcsy to be held for one month, Anna Madarasi, spokesperson for the Budapest-Capital Regional Court, told Hungarian news agency MTI. Matolcsy was taken into custody on Wednesday.

His lawyer, Pal Batki, said Matolcsy testified for two and a half hours on Friday, while two other people were also questioned during the closed-door proceedings.

Prosecutors said Wednesday that coordinated investigative action was underway at multiple locations in connection with an investigation into the MNB's foundations and the renovation of its landmark headquarters.

Matolcsy served as the MNB governor from 2013 to 2025 and as economy minister under former Prime Minister Viktor Orban from 2010 to 2013.