WASHINGTON — Today, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is sanctioning Antal Rogan, a senior Hungarian government official, for his involvement in corruption in Hungary. He is being designated pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13818, which builds upon and implements the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act and targets perpetrators of serious human rights abuse and corruption around the world.
“Corruption undermines a country’s governing institutions and limits its economic development, providing short-sighted gain to a select few while depriving future generations of longer-term benefit,” said Acting Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley T. Smith. “The United States will not hesitate to hold accountable individuals, like Rogan, who use the power of their office to illicitly enrich themselves and their cronies at the expense of their country and their fellow citizens.”
Public sector corruption in Hungary has been worsening for more than a decade, leading to Hungary receiving the lowest score of any European Union (EU) member state on Transparency International’s 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index for the second consecutive year. The European Union suspended funding over concerns with breaches of the principles of rule of law in Hungary, including those related to public procurement, conflict of interest, and the fight against corruption. Whistleblowers in Hungary have criticized the government for operating a kleptocracy with a notable lack of transparency and equity in public and private expenditure deals made between administrators in Budapest, such as Rogan, and loyalist business leaders. Hungary’s failure to address transparency issues in its public procurement mechanisms has most recently led to a loss of over one billion Euros in future funding from the European Union, disadvantaging Hungarian citizens.
ANTAL ROGAN
Antal Rogan (Rogan) is a senior Hungarian government official who has a critical role in Prime Minister Orban’s government. Currently the Minister in Charge of Orban’s Cabinet Office, Rogan controls many government entities, including the National Communications Office, the Digital Government Agency, and the Hungarian Tourism Agency. Rogan has used his role to enrich himself and those loyal to his party. Rogan also has been a Member of Parliament in Hungary since 1998.
Throughout his tenure as a government official, Rogan has orchestrated Hungary’s system for distributing public contracts and resources to cronies loyal to himself and the Fidesz political party. Rogan orchestrated schemes designed to control several strategic sectors of the Hungarian economy and to divert proceeds from those sectors to himself and to reward loyalists from his political party.
OFAC is designating Rogan pursuant to E.O. 13818 for being a foreign person who is a current or former government official, or a person acting for or on behalf of such an official, who is responsible for or complicit in, or has directly or indirectly engaged in, corruption, including the misappropriation of state assets, the expropriation of private assets for personal gain, corruption related to government contracts or the extraction of natural resources, or bribery.
SANCTIONS IMPLICATIONS
As a result of today’s action, all property and interests in property of the designated person described above that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. In addition, any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, individually or in the aggregate, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked. Unless authorized by a general or specific license issued by OFAC, or exempt, OFAC’s regulations generally prohibit all transactions by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of designated or otherwise blocked persons.
In addition, financial institutions and other persons that engage in certain transactions or activities with the individual may expose themselves to sanctions or be subject to an enforcement action. The prohibitions include the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any designated person, or the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person.
GLOBAL MAGNITSKY
Building upon the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, E.O. 13818 was issued on December 20, 2017, in recognition that the prevalence of human rights abuse and corruption that have their source, in whole or in substantial part, outside the United States, had reached such scope and gravity as to threaten the stability of international political and economic systems. Human rights abuse and corruption undermine the values that form an essential foundation of stable, secure, and functioning societies; have devastating impacts on individuals; weaken democratic institutions; degrade the rule of law; perpetuate violent conflicts; facilitate the activities of dangerous persons; and undermine economic markets. The United States seeks to impose tangible and significant consequences on those who commit serious human rights abuse or engage in corruption, as well as to protect the financial system of the United States from abuse by these same persons.
The power and integrity of OFAC sanctions derive not only from OFAC’s ability to designate and add persons to the SDN List, but also from its willingness to remove persons from the SDN List consistent with the law. The ultimate goal of sanctions is not to punish, but to bring about a positive change in behavior. For information concerning the process for seeking removal from an OFAC list, including the SDN List, please refer to OFAC’s Frequently Asked Question 897 here. For detailed information on the process to submit a request for removal from an OFAC sanctions list, please click here.
Click here for more information on the individual designated today.
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