György Matolcsy, the former governor of Hungary’s central bank, has been detained on suspicion of economic fraud causing significant financial damage and using a forged private document, his lawyer has confirmed.
Matolcsy was taken to the Central Chief Prosecution Office of Investigation early on Wednesday morning, according to Telex. Several other people have also reportedly been detained, including a lawyer and a businessman linked to the renovation of a villa on the Greek island of Mykonos associated with Matolcsy’s son, Ádám.
What charges does Matolcsy face?
Pál Bátki, Matolcsy’s legal representative, told Telex that his client was suspected of economic fraud causing significant financial damage and the misdemeanour of using a forged private document. The suspect’s formal questioning had not yet begun, but was expected to take place later on Wednesday morning.
Meanwhile, the Central Chief Prosecution Office of Investigation confirmed that coordinated investigative operations were under way at several locations as part of an ongoing investigation into suspected misappropriation of funds causing particularly significant financial damage. Further details were expected later in the day.
Investigation into central bank foundations
The detention marks a huge development in the long-running scandal surrounding the Hungarian National Bank (MNB) and its foundations, which managed hundreds of billions of forints in public assets during Matolcsy’s tenure as governor.
In March 2025, Hungary’s State Audit Office published reports identifying serious problems in the management of assets linked to the central bank’s foundations. One report raised concerns about the management of the Pallas Athéné Domus Meriti Foundation (PADME), with findings pointing to substantial losses.
The audit office concluded that assets worth hundreds of billions of forints had disappeared from the foundation during Matolcsy’s leadership. Earlier investigations by independent media had also raised questions about the foundations’ finances and their property investments.
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New developments in the MNB case
In September 2026, the central bank’s current leadership filed a criminal complaint over the depreciation of five properties it owned, citing suspected misappropriation, negligent mismanagement, fraud and abuse of office.
Governor Mihály Varga subsequently announced that a further 30,000 pages of documents relating to the MNB’s previous operations had been handed over to a parliamentary investigative committee.
The committee has been examining the case and seeking to identify those responsible. In early October, it questioned former Fidesz MPs Lajos Kósa and Erik Bánki about their knowledge of the central bank foundations and their operations.