Pressman leaves Budapest next week, after two and a half years spent as an unusually active diplomat, travelling the country and frequently criticising the Orban government. His d

Accusations of corruption and cronyism have dogged Prime Minister Viktor Orban since he came to power in 2010, while Budapest's relations with Washington have become increasingly strained during the presidency of Joe Biden, due in part to Budapest's warm ties with Moscow despite the war in Ukraine.

The US has placed Viktor Orbán’s chief of staff under sanctions for alleged corruption, the highest-ranking Hungarian official to be blacklisted since the fall of Communism.

On Tuesday, a top Hungarian government official and adviser to Prime Minister Viktor Orban was sanctioned for alleged corrupt activity by the United States, according to the U.S. Department of State.

Peter Magyar accused Prime Minister Viktor Orban of turning Hungary into "the EU's poorest, most corrupt nation."

By Tamas Csonka The US has sanctioned Antal Rogan, a close ally of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, for his alleged leading role in systemic public corruption in Hungary, outgoing US Ambassador David Pressman informed local media at an extraordinary press conference on January 7.

Antal Rogan is the first high-ranking Hungarian official sanctioned by the U.S. under the Magnitsky Act, which targets individuals involved in serious human rights abuses and corruption.

The U.S. administration announced on Tuesday that it would sanction Antal Rogan, the head of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's cabinet, for corruption. According to the State Department, the case of the prime minister's close associate exemplifies "state capture by oligarchs and undemocratic actors.