Parliament Elects Anna Unger to Lead New Anti-Corruption Body NVVH

Hungary's parliament elected political scientist Anna Unger, a lecturer at Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), as president of the newly created National Asset Recovery and Protection Office (NVVH) on August 28, by secret ballot with 145 votes in favor — the two-thirds threshold required. Katalin Tasnádi was simultaneously appointed deputy president overseeing investigations. The NVVH, established by a law Parliament passed in July with 143 votes, has sweeping powers to investigate corruption involving public officials and state assets dating to the Orbán era, including access to confidential financial data, fines up to 5 billion forints, and authority to step into the prosecution service's role to bring and represent charges. Critics, including some who backed Transparency International Hungary lawyer Miklós Ligeti for the post, questioned whether the selection process was fair; Fidesz objected that the office's broad powers lack adequate external checks and could become 'a tool for political score-settling.' Unger cautioned it would be unrealistic to expect final judgments in all major corruption cases within six years.