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The National Bureau of Investigation of the Standby Police (KR NNI) also conducted searches in connection with the case, the Budapest prosecutor’s office said, according to news wire MTI.
Prosecutors allege that department heads at the central bank’s Bank Supervisory Center abused their official authority in 2023, acting on instructions from their superiors to pressure a Hungarian bank owned by an Austrian parent company. That pressure allegedly forced a member of the parent company’s supervisory board to resign.
The National Police Headquarters confirmed that seven people had been questioned as suspects in the Erste case, including the former central bank governor. Matolcsy headed the institution from 2013 to 2025.
The investigation began in April following an interview with András Simor, Matolcsy’s predecessor as governor. Simor spoke about pressure exerted against him in connection with his membership on the supervisory board of Erste Group, the Vienna-based parent company of Erste Bank.
Investigators have obtained documents from both the central bank and Erste Bank. Police said further investigative work would seek to clarify the suspects’ individual roles.
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