MNI BRIEF: NBH Alleges Pushback Over Insider Trading Probe

The National Bank of Hungary on Wednesday said an unnamed politician tried to influence an investigation into alleged insider trading.

“On April 22, 2025, the leader of a political party called a female employee of the Hungarian National Bank to account in an irritated tone over the phone after the central bank, in compliance with its legal obligation, initiated ex officio market surveillance proceedings against several individuals on suspicion of insider trading,” the NBH said in a press release.

“The politician angrily objected to the questions asked of him in the declaratory order, and then, referring to next year's parliamentary elections, suggested changes. The Hungarian National Bank strongly condemns all forms of verbal violence and operates exclusively in accordance with the law and independently of politics.”

The investigation relates to the period immediately preceding the share buyback announcement of OPUS GLOBAL Plc. (OPUS) in July 2023, the NBH said. Opus Global is a Hungarian industrial conglomerate and asset management firm whose majority shareholder, Meszaros Lorinc, is reportedly a close ally of prime minister Viktor Orban.