The Central Investigation Chief Prosecutor's Office (KNYF) has issued international arrest warrants in the MNB case against Ádám Matolcsy, the son of the former central bank governor, and businessman György Stofa. In addition to György Matolcsy, the former central bank governor, a lawyer and one further individual were taken into custody on Wednesday; Válasz Online later published both of their names.
The Central Investigation Chief Prosecutor’s Office informed MTI that, in an ongoing investigation into the criminal offence of economic fraud causing particularly significant financial harm and other crimes, it had questioned György Matolcsy, the former governor of the Magyar Nemzeti Bank, and his associates as suspects and subsequently taken them into custody.
The chief prosecutor’s office, in a complex law enforcement operation — carried out with the participation of personnel from the National Investigation Bureau, the Budapest Metropolitan Police Headquarters, the National Protective Service, and the Rapid Response Police — conducted searches at multiple locations, during which evidence was seized.
The investigating prosecutors took action in connection with one strand of the so-called MNB case. The substance of this strand is that under the direction of central bank governor György Matolcsy, the MNB established the Pallas Athéné Foundations in 2014 and transferred to them public funds — specifically more than 266 billion forints derived from the central bank’s exchange rate gains — with the management of these assets carried out by Optima Befektetési Zrt. The merger of the Pallas Athéné Foundations in 2019 resulted in the creation of the PADME Foundation.
On 28 February 2025 — the penultimate working day of György Matolcsy’s tenure as central bank governor — Optima Befektetési Zrt. and the Central European III Private Equity Fund represented by Quartz Befektetési Alapkezelő Zrt. entered into a simulated securities lending agreement. Its true purpose was to transfer control over the assets of the PADME Foundation to a circle of individuals over whom György Matolcsy would retain influence after the expiry of his governorship, with the aim of enabling him and his son, Ádám Matolcsy, to make investments serving their own interests for personal gain.
By transferring the ordinary shares of Optima Befektetési Alapkezelő Zrt. to the Central European III Private Equity Fund through the simulated contract, ownership control was obtained over an investment fund manager handling assets with a market value of nearly 200 billion forints. This caused financial harm of an amount that cannot be precisely determined but significantly exceeds the 500-million-forint lower threshold for particularly significant financial damage, according to the statement.
The Central Investigation Prosecutor’s Office informed MTI that, in addition to György Matolcsy, it had taken into custody the representative of the Central European III Private Equity Fund who acted in the conclusion of the loan agreement, as well as the attorney who assisted in the securities transaction. They added that the suspects questioned so far, including György Matolcsy, refused to make a statement.
The prosecution did not disclose the names of the individuals taken into custody, nor did it name those against whom international arrest warrants had been issued. However, the wanted notices issued against Ádám Matolcsy and György Stofa are available on the police.hu website.
According to K-Monitor’s description, the latter previously served as the head of Optima Zrt., the company that managed the funds of the MNB foundations — a position he left in early 2025 after Mihály Varga took over the presidency of the MNB from György Matolcsy. In 2024, Stofa was the head of GTC, which handles real estate investments made through the MNB foundations.
The wanted notices reveal that both men are being sought by the chief prosecutor’s office on charges of economic fraud as defined under Section 374 of the Criminal Code. The penalty is five to ten years’ imprisonment if the economic fraud causes a particularly significant financial loss.
On Wednesday evening, Válasz Online reported that, according to its information, former central bank governor György Matolcsy was taken into custody in the MNB case alongside Mihály Valkó, CEO of Quartz Befektetési Alapkezelő Zrt., and Tamás Sándor, the standing legal representative of the Matolcsy camp.
Pál Bátki, the former central bank governor’s lawyer, informed Telex that during the questioning, the investigating prosecutors summarised the circumstances on which the suspicion is based and moved for the pre-trial detention of his client.
He added that György Matolcsy’s questioning as a suspect concluded shortly after half past three in the afternoon; during the several-hour interrogation, his client did not make a statement and only spoke about his personal circumstances.
“It was very difficult to process this five-page charge sheet containing a great deal of data. Until we can see what evidence forms its basis, we are unable to respond to it,” the defence counsel said. György Matolcsy was transferred from the Central Investigation Chief Prosecutor’s Office to a police detention facility, the news portal reported.
Artificial intelligence was used for the translation of parts of the original Hungarian text.