Summary and statement of the criminal case of Ferenc Biró

Recent events concerning Ferenc Biró, President of the Hungarian Integrity Authority

On January 16, 2025, the Central Chief Prosecution Office of Investigation (CCPOI) launched criminal proceedings against the president of Hungary’s Integrity Authority, Ferenc Biró, accusing him of misappropriation of funds and abuse of office.

The CCPOI conducted searches at several locations, including the Integrity Authority’s offices and President Biró’s residence.

Allegations against President Biró include:

  • Renting two company cars, one of which was allegedly used by his wife.
  • Improperly restricting the powers of his deputies, by modifying the Authority’s internal procedures.

According to President Biró, both allegations are unfounded.

  • His wife used his dedicated car only on a few occasions.
  • The modification of the Authority’s internal procedures aimed to optimize the Authority’s work, and both before and after the amendments, the relevant internal policies were in line with the law.

President Biró emphasizes that while these are serious accusations, they do not constitute corruption offences, and the prosecution is not charging him with such crimes.

On January 17, 2025, President Biró held a press conference where he:

  • Stated that the allegations against him were unfounded and did not constitute a criminal offence.
  • Admitted his wife had used his service vehicle for personal errands, but claimed this was in line with internal regulations.
  • Stated he would not resign from his position, and the Integrity Authority continues its dedicated work.
  • Suggested the investigation was politically motivated, saying it was ordered “from above”.

The case has garnered significant attention due to the Integrity Authority’s role in overseeing the use of EU funds and its creation as part of Hungary’s commitment to comply with EU rule of law requirements.

These events occur in the context of ongoing tensions between Hungary and the EU over rule of law issues and the allocation of EU funds. It is worth noting that additional unfounded suspicions have appeared in the press, which are not part of the official proceedings.

Press Statement by Ferenc Pál Biró at the press conference held on 17 January 2025:

Greetings to the representatives of the press! Thank you for coming.

First of all, I would like to make it clear that the suspicions against me are unfounded and I have filed a complaint against them. I have not committed a crime.

This is a targeted assault on my character aimed at undermining the Integrity Authority’s operation.

Our organisation has always operated transparently, and we follow the highest legal and ethical standards. I am proud that our activities serve the interests of the country, independently, objectively and on a purely professional basis.

I have repeatedly stated in the past that cooperation with public authorities is impeded. However, I did not expect that I would have to cooperate with the prosecution service in this form.

I am well aware that the Prosecution Service of Hungary is a hierarchical organisation and that the prosecutors who appeared yesterday were acting under instructions from above. However, the Authority has always been open to the Prosecution Service as well.

We must emphasize that today’s events are incompatible with the maintenance of constructive professional relations.

In addition, the law establishing the Integrity Authority provides for cooperation with the Prosecution Service, which I fully comply with, ensuring full transparency.

The extensive duration and unprecedented scale of the procedure, coupled with the vast array of documents and electronic data collected, as well as the breadth of access requested, appear disproportionate and unwarranted. These suggest that the investigation concerning my person was also intended to open a procedural door, since it will make the Authority’s investigative and control activities and their results accessible to a much wider audience than we consider justified.

I also find the timing of the procedure remarkable: the Integrity Authority has just launched an investigation into the activities of the National Communications Office (NKOH in Hungarian).

I am aware that our independence and our expertise is viewed unfavourably by some. However, in the context of a democratic society, such challenges do not diminish our resolve; rather, they reinforce our commitment to our mission.  Our society needs such a strong, independent institution dedicated to representing the public’s interests.

It is important to highlight that attacks against me yesterday were of a personal nature, targeting my character. The Integrity Authority will continue to do its work in the same way. The staff of our organisation continue to carry out their daily tasks with exemplary tenacity and commitment, even in this situation. As President, I will remain at the helm, and together with my colleagues we will continue to work to protect EU funds and fight corruption. These two activities are in the common interest of the whole society, all of us.

Finally, I would like to thank my colleagues. Their strength and encouragement mean a lot to me.

Thank you for your attention, I sincerely hope that we can soon return to the work we have undertaken: serving the nation and its citizens.

Summary of the answers to the questions at the press conference held on 17 January 2025:

The first question was whether the wife had used the car. President Biró clarified that the Authority leases 20 cars in total, three of which are used by top executives. One is used by him. The use of company vehicles is governed by comprehensive internal policies, ensuring full compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.

The President added that the authority acts in accordance with applicable laws. Contrary to what the Prosecutor’s Office implied (and wrote in its statement), the Authority had not, at any point, leased or provided a vehicle to any individual not formally employed by the organization.

When asked whether his wife used the car, President Biró noted that according to the rules, the car could be used by family members. His wife did use his car occasionally, for example to go shopping. Since it is an ongoing criminal case, he said, he could only share limited information.

The Prosecutor’s Office alleges in its official statement that the authority of the deputy presidents was restricted. President Biró said there was no such intention.  Instead, as the Authority has evolved over the past two years, internal rules have also evolved, allowing more efficient work, which obviously entails a delegation of tasks, and – as he added – requires flexibility from everyone.

The next question also concerned the leased car. President Biró confirmed that once his wife had a minor accident using the car but reiterated that it was not a separately leased car, and that his wife used his office car in accordance with the internal policy. He was not in the car at the time of the accident. He also talked about coming from the corporate world, where access to a company vehicle is a standard benefit associated with this executive position. He does not see a problem with the fact that his wife occasionally used the vehicle.

Answering the question about car ownership in his family, he explained that he does not own a car, but his wife does. She used his leased vehicle, because his son took the other one to go somewhere.

The next question is whether he sees any connection between the investigation just launched into the activities of the National Communications Office (NKOH in Hungarian) and the disproportionate actions of the prosecution. While acknowledging the potential for drawing such a connection, he refrains from making specific allegations at this juncture. A journalist also asks about the Balásy company (Company close to the Government, which did not win the Authority’s tender). Biró answers that the work of independent bodies is subject to a lot of criticism, and the Authority is interfering with vested interests, and that this investigation by the CCPOI could be motivated by many things. He added that the prosecutor’s office launched the investigation following an anonymous report.

Answering the question about his resignation he stated that he will not resign because of the allegations.

A question was raised concerning a news report by one of the newspapers (Magyar Nemzet). According to the allegations of the paper, the family renovated a villa and renovated hundreds of meters of the fence using public funds. In his answer, he denied the renovation and clarified that indeed, a 100-meter-long section of the fence was reinforced. He stated that he, and to some extent his family, have received many threats. After several threats, he followed the procedure of acquiring permission (consulting the Authority’s Director of Security, gaining the support of the Director-General of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution and the relevant Minister, and appealing to the Parliament’s Committee on National Security before receiving authorization to reinforce the fence).

Responding to another question, he said that his house has also been searched, but nothing was found. In his opinion, the prosecutors wanted to see the ongoing investigation cases of the Authority. The prosecutor’s office has not yet disclosed the list of documents seized, but we are talking about thousands of pages. The search lasted six hours. He said he did not make a confession because if the prosecution looked at the documents, they would see that no crime was committed.

What did the CCPOI say?

In a statement issued on Thursday morning, the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said that a criminal investigation was under way at the Integrity Authority. In the criminal investigation searches were carried out at several locations, including the offices of the Integrity Authority and the president’s private house.

On Thursday evening, the CCPOI issued a statement, according to which, in addition to his own high-end service vehicle, Bíró is suspected of having leased another car. The initial monthly lease fee was 475,285 forints (1,150 euros) plus VAT, which later increased. “By violating the regulation on asset management, the President of the Integrity Authority caused a financial loss of nearly HUF 14 million (33,000 euros) to the Integrity Authority,” they wrote. The statement further said that with the goal of excluding the other two members of the Board from exercising their legal rights, the President of the Integrity Authority had restricted some of their competences contrary to the law, while at the same time exercising his authority in public office arbitrarily.

What was the Authority’s answer on the same evening:

On the same evening, after the publication of the above statement, Ferenc Biró also issued a press release:

“The allegations of misappropriation and abuse of office are unfounded, and I have filed a complaint against them. Today’s events constitute an attack of a personal nature, targeting my character and, through me, the Integrity Authority. I can assure everyone that the Authority will continue to perform its work in the same way as it has in the past: our organization has always operated and continues to operate in accordance with the highest ethical and legal standards.

“Additionally, the law that established the Integrity Authority stipulates cooperation with the Public Prosecutor’s Office, and I will fully comply with this and will ensure full transparency.”

Statement by Ferenc Pál Biró on articles about his property

In the last few days, several press articles have reported that I used the Integrity Authority’s money to renovate the house I live in.

This is not true.

I have never boasted about it, but at the same time I have never made a secret of the fact that after 30 years of success in the competitive market I have achieved financial prosperity through my own efforts. The house where my family and I live has been built over many years, as a result of hard work in both international and domestic fields.

I left behind a competitive, high-income, business-owner lifestyle to use the knowledge I gained in the fields of anti-corruption and legal compliance for the benefit of the Hungarian nation, and to fight for the acquisition and correct spending of EU funds, as well as to combat corruption.

By accepting the position of president of the Integrity Authority, my salary was reduced to a fraction overnight. I was able to make this sacrifice because I consider serving the nation to be more important than having an outstanding income.

In my opinion, generally speaking, it is not a problem to live in wealth, but to have acquired it through dishonest means. I have earned every penny fairly; I have only had declared income, on which I paid all necessary taxes.

It is a malicious accusation that I had my house renovated with taxpayers’ money. Our investigations may affect various interests and I have received several threats against my person and my family. Therefore, acting as a public official of ministerial rank, I sought and obtained permission from the relevant authorities and the National Security Committee of the Hungarian National Assembly to install state-of-the-art cameras inside and outside the house, as well as a 100-metre stretch of reinforcing wire fencing with posts to prevent any potential intrusion. The works were carried out by Valton Security.

In my view, these were fully justified, lawful, requested and authorised activities. I believe everything else is a malicious misrepresentation of the facts.

In my opinion, there is only one reason for the false portrayal of these facts: to discredit the work of the Integrity Authority through me personally and to remove me from my position as its head. This, of course, does not deter me or my colleagues from continuing to objectively prevent, hinder and uncover corruption based on professional standards, completely independent of party politics and rising above them. Even if our consistent and honest work is to the detriment of the interests of some.