Vox hides loan from Hungarian billionaire’s bank
The Spanish far-right party Vox has come under scrutiny after it was revealed that they had taken out a substantial loan of €9.2 million from a bank affiliated with the Hungarian government. The loan, which amounts to approximately HUF 3.6 billion, was provided by MBH Bank, owned by Lőrinc Mészáros, a close associate of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
According to a report by El País, MBH Bank supported Vox’s election campaigns in 2023 by providing the party with financial assistance. However, Vox failed to disclose the source of the loan in their financial reports, in violation of Spanish party financing laws. The party borrowed the sum in two instalments last year, with €2.6 million allocated for municipal elections and €6.5 million for general elections.
Vox’s party leader, Santiago Abascal, justified the decision not to name the creditor by stating that the institution wished to avoid negative attention for its involvement. Despite this, El País reported in September that the funds for Vox’s campaign likely originated from a Hungarian bank with connections to the government. Party spokesperson Pepa Millán confirmed that the lender was indeed a Hungarian bank, as Spanish financial institutions were unwilling to provide the loan. However, she denied knowledge of MBH’s ties to Orbán and stated that the loan has been fully repaid.
This revelation comes after it was disclosed that Marine Le Pen, leader of the French far-right party, also received a loan from a bank owned by Mészáros for her presidential campaign in 2022. The bank, MKB, has merged into the Magyar Bankholding group, which also lent to Vox. Both Vox and Le Pen claimed that French banks were unwilling to provide financial support, leading them to seek foreign funding.
Furthermore, Vox, once a member of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) party, recently joined Viktor Orbán’s newly formed Patriots for Europe (PfE) group. Within a few weeks, PfE became the third-largest political faction in the European Parliament, with Vox’s MEPs among the first to join. This development raises concerns about the party’s alliances and financial dealings, especially in light of their connections to Hungarian banks with ties to the government.
