Hungarian police have opened a formal criminal investigation into suspected abuse of office and mismanagement at state-owned Hungarian Export-Import Bank (Eximbank), including a controversial €1bn loan extended to North Macedonia, a police statement said.

The investigation, announced on September 1, covers four cases referred to police by the Ministry of Economy and Energy after an internal audit identified alleged irregularities dating from the previous administration led by former prime minister Viktor Orban.

Police seized thousands of pages of internal ministry documents on August 31 as part of the investigation. The documents were collected during the ministry’s own review and are expected to provide evidence concerning the transactions under scrutiny.

The four cases were first reported in July, when the ministry said it had filed criminal complaints following its internal audit. It alleged that Eximbank had approved more than HUF1,000bn (€2.5bn) in financing under suspicious circumstances, including loans with weak collateral and significant exposure to risk.

One of the transactions under investigation is a €1bn loan to North Macedonia, provided in two tranches at an annual interest rate of 3.25%, according to Brussels-based EUalive. The financing was backed by a full guarantee from the North Macedonian government.

Eximbank, whose role is to support Hungarian exporters and international investment projects, was overseen by Hungary’s foreign ministry until responsibility was transferred to the economy ministry in June 2022. The bank has not immediately commented publicly on the investigation.

The North Macedonia financing has attracted particular attention because of its political context.

The €1bn general-purpose credit was negotiated in 2024, with the two governments reaching an understanding on the loan during the Nato summit in Washington on July 11.

North Macedonia’s government approved the draft legislation on September 3, while parliament adopted a special law authorising the borrowing on September 17. The finance ministries signed the agreement on October 8, when the first €500mn tranche was released.

The loan was agreed shortly after Hristijan Mickoski became prime minister of North Macedonia and has subsequently become a focus of political criticism in Hungary.

Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar has argued that Eximbank resources intended to support Hungarian businesses may instead have been used to assist a foreign political ally and potentially benefit commercial interests linked to the previous administration.

Magyar, who defeated Viktor Orbán in April and ended Orbán’s 16-year tenure, has made tackling alleged systemic corruption under the previous government a central political commitment. Orbán has denied the accusations.

Magyar has also questioned the terms of the North Macedonia loan, arguing that the 3.25% interest rate was unusually favourable compared with financing available to Hungarian companies and even with some borrowing undertaken by the Hungarian state.