Hungary's Orban Dismisses U.S. Corruption Claims

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Friday dismissed corruption claims cited by Washington as the reason for U.S. entry bans on six senior Hungarian officials in October that have soured already frayed bilateral relations.

"This is just a scrap of paper," Orban on Friday morning in an interview with state radio, referring to a document published by the government on Thursday said to come from the U.S. embassy in Budapest.

"We were given a paper that is a loose collection of accusations that we have heard from opposition parties over the last four years. If it weren't in English, I would think it was written by opposition parties," Orban said.

The document, with no official stamp or letterhead, lists occasions when the U.S. Embassy raised concerns over "VAT fraud, institutionalised corruption, whistleblower protection", and the nationalisation of tobacco sales.

The U.S. Embassy has not commented on the document.

The United States has declined to reveal the identities of the officials concerned or details about the corruption allegations, but has said they made them known to Hungarian authorities.

The head of the tax office, Ildiko Vida, confirmed however earlier this month that she was one of the six, and rejected the "wicked" accusations. Last Sunday, several thousand demonstrators called for her resignation.

The row has further soured relations between Washington and Hungary, a NATO and EU member, which have worsened since the right-wing Orban took power in 2010.

In September U.S. President Barack Obama criticised Hungary for harassing civil organisations, while the top U.S. diplomat in Hungary, Andre Goodfriend, said last month that "negative trends" have "rapidly taken hold".

Orban said last week that Hungary is under "great pressure" from Washington because of the Ukraine crisis and its energy ties to Russia.