Hungary Opens Probe Into Ex-Foreign Minister's Deals With China's BYD

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A Fast Exit, Then a New Job at BYD

Péter Szijjártó spent almost 12 years as Hungary's top diplomat under former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Last week, he abruptly resigned his parliamentary seat to become an executive at BYD, the Chinese company that is now the world's largest electric vehicle maker.

Szijjártó called the offer "highly prestigious" and praised BYD as one of the greatest success stories in the auto industry over the past 20 years. He said he would now work on external relations and new business lines for the company.

The timing raised eyebrows immediately. Just days earlier, Szijjártó had been the government minister responsible for courting BYD's investment in Hungary in the first place.

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Prime Minister Magyar Orders a Full Review

Hungary's current Prime Minister, Péter Magyar, who defeated Orbán's party in this year's election, announced Monday that his government would examine every decision, negotiation, and state commitment Szijjártó made regarding BYD's Hungary investment.

Magyar told lawmakers that Szijjártó had backed BYD while in office "with hundreds of billions [of forints] in public money, diplomatic support and state infrastructure." He said the review would also cover subsidies, tax breaks, permits, and environmental exemptions handed to large multinational firms throughout Orbán's time in power.

"We will investigate who made these decisions, who prepared them, what professional warnings were ignored, and how much burden they left on Hungarian taxpayers, workers, local communities and the environment," Magyar said.

Magyar has also floated a broader fix: mandatory "cooling-off" periods that would stop former officials from immediately taking private jobs tied to their old government work. He argued Hungary needs stricter post-government employment rules for exactly this kind of situation. Neither Szijjártó nor BYD has responded publicly to the conflict-of-interest accusations.

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How BYD Became a Favorite of the Old Government

Szijjártó was the public face of Orbán's "Eastern Opening" policy, a years-long push to deepen economic ties with China. Under that strategy, Hungary attracted roughly a quarter of all Chinese investment flowing into Europe, largely through tax breaks and infrastructure deals.

In 2023, Szijjártó announced BYD would build its first European factory in the southern city of Szeged, a move that let the company sidestep EU tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles. Two years later, he unveiled a further deal: BYD's European headquarters and a research center would move to Budapest, backed by 20 billion forints (about $63.7 million) in government support.

Overall estimates put BYD's state support in Hungary at around 300 billion forints, equivalent to roughly €830 million. One Hungarian news outlet reported that Magyar's own foreign minister called the speed of Szijjártó's jump to BYD "unprecedented" for a former top official.

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Environmental and Labor Controversies Follow the Money

The Chinese-led investment wave was never free of controversy. Local residents, environmentalists, and opposition politicians repeatedly protested that new battery and EV plants would strain Hungary's water supplies and deepen the country's economic dependence on Beijing.

Those warnings gained new weight this year. Hungary's environment minister said in May that BYD had "seriously violated" its environmental obligations at the Szeged site, and police are now investigating claims that toxic soil was found there. The European Commission has acknowledged the allegations but says it is up to Hungarian authorities to act on them. BYD was also fined roughly 10 million forints (about €28,700) over soil contamination.

More serious allegations have come from labor rights investigators. A report by the U.S.-based group China Labor Watch documented conditions at the Szeged construction site involving continuous seven-day workweeks with no guaranteed rest. The organization interviewed 50 workers and found allegations of shifts of up to 14 hours a day, up to three months of unpaid wages, recruitment fees, restricted freedom of movement, and indicators consistent with forced labor.

China Labor Watch also said one of the Chinese migrant workers at the Szeged site died in February 2026, prompting an investigation by Hungary's county labor authority. BYD has rejected the allegations; company executive Stella Li said the firm has complied with all local regulations. Similar sanctions have since been imposed on companies tied to the plant, and Hungary opened a separate environmental investigation into the site.

The pattern is not unique to Hungary. The allegations echo findings by Brazil's Ministry of Labour and Employment, which accused BYD and its contractors of trafficking migrant workers into conditions comparable to slavery at a construction site in Camaçari, Brazil. Critics argue the cases fit a broader pattern in which Chinese state-linked companies expand rapidly overseas while treating labor and environmental rules as negotiable — a dynamic long documented in the Chinese Communist Party's approach to industrial expansion at home and abroad.

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A Second Investigation: Szijjártó's Ties to Moscow

BYD is not the only shadow hanging over Szijjártó. As foreign minister, he kept unusually close ties with Russia even after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, frequently traveling to Moscow to negotiate oil and gas deals and meeting repeatedly with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, whom he called his "friend."

During Hungary's 2026 election campaign, the Washington Post reported that Szijjártó made regular phone calls to Lavrov during high-level EU meetings, giving Moscow live updates on what was being discussed. Szijjártó disputed the report's characterization but acknowledged briefing Lavrov before and after EU foreign ministers' meetings.

Magyar confirmed last week that a separate investigation into Szijjártó's Russia connections is already underway, though he gave few details. Hungarian commentators have noted that the Russia probe and the BYD move now feed into each other, fueling suspicion that years of pro-China and pro-Russia policy were ultimately rewarded with a lucrative corporate position.

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What Happens Next

Magyar has said BYD itself will be treated like any other foreign investor going forward — welcome to stay if it meets its tax and investment commitments, but expected to follow Hungarian and EU environmental and labor law. The bigger question is what the investigation into Szijjártó turns up, and whether it leads to any legal consequences rather than just political embarrassment.

For now, Szijjártó remains uncharged, and BYD's Szeged factory is already producing vehicles. But the case has become a flashpoint in a wider European debate: how much scrutiny should be applied to Chinese state-linked companies that combine heavy government subsidies with allegations of forced labor and environmental harm — and to the officials who once approved the deals.

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Sources

1. AP News – "Hungary probes deal with China's BYD carmaker after ex-foreign minister takes job there" – https://apnews.com/article/hungary-probe-byd-deal-szijjarto-2aaa8f568762e2cd92dd1c65bd3c59bd
2. AFP via Yahoo Finance – "Orban's ex-FM quits Hungary parliament for China's BYD" – https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/orbans-ex-fm-quits-hungary-144737993.html
3. bne IntelliNews – "Hungarian PM flags potential conflict of interest over former foreign minister's move to BYD" – https://www.intellinews.com/hungarian-pm-flags-potential-conflict-of-interest-over-former-foreign-minister-s-move-to-byd-455261/
4. EUobserver – "From Trojan Horse in Brussels to executive for China's BYD – Hungary's Szijjártó makes classic 'revolving doors' move" – https://euobserver.com/228368/from-trojan-horse-in-brussels-to-executive-for-chinas-byd-hungarys-szijjarto-makes-classic-revolving-doors-move/
5. Automotive World – "BYD faces forced labour allegations at Hungary plant" – https://www.automotiveworld.com/news/byd-faces-forced-labour-allegations-at-hungary-plant/
6. CBC News – "EV giant BYD accused of forced labour violations at European factory" – https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/byd-hungary-china-labour-watch-9.7154249
7. Business & Human Rights Resource Centre – "Hungary: Chinese construction workers allegedly subjected to severe abuse at BYD electric vehicle plant" – https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/hungary-chinese-construction-workers-allegedly-subjected-to-severe-abuse-at-byd-electric-vehicle-plant-incl-indicators-of-forced-labour/
8. European Parliament Parliamentary Question E-001437/2026 – "Alleged forced labour at the BYD construction site in Szeged (Hungary)" – https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-10-2026-001437_EN.html
9. TheNextWeb – "BYD rejects claims it violated Hungary's environmental rules at its Szeged EV factory" – https://thenextweb.com/news/byd-rejects-hungary-environmental-violations-szeged-factory

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