In one of his last actions, David Pressman announced that the US had placed the Minister of the Prime Minister’s Cabinet Office on a sanctions list.Continue reading
Antal Rogán, the Minister in charge of the Prime Minister’s Cabinet Office, has been removed from the Office of Foreign Assets Control’s (OFAC) sanctions list, to which he was added by the Democratic administration on January 7, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó confirmed on his social media page. The decision was announced at the time by David Pressman, the former Biden appointed activist US ambassador to Hungary.
Mr Pressman held a press conference in January when he announced the sanctioning of Antal Rogán.
The former US ambassador justified the decision by saying that the Hungarian Minister had allegedly abused his official position to influence the business sector.
“Antal Rogán is a primary architect, implementer, and beneficiary of this system of corruption,” he said, adding that the politician has “abused his office for his personal enrichment,” but also for the benefit of others loyal to his political party. In response to a question, David Pressman highlighted that this was the reason why he, and not the Hungarian Prime Minister, was placed on the sanctions list.
In late March, Antán Rogán was asked about the sanctions in the Parliament, saying that he was still waiting for answers to a number of questions, Index reported. He replied to opposition MP Olga Kálmán: “Please, first of all, turn to the already failed US government, the failed Democratic leadership, which the voters have driven away. They had already been turned away when this decision was taken. They knew full well that in a few days’ time the responsibility for this decision would no longer be theirs to bear,” he emphasized.
Gergely Gulyás, the Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office, announced at the beginning of April that Antal Rogán could soon be removed from the US sanctions list.
We are convinced that the period that Antal Rogán will have to spend on the sanctions list will be a record short one. As there was no basis for this measure, we hope that the new US administration will quickly revoke it,”
he stated.
Accordingly, as of Tuesday evening, Mr Rogán was no longer on the sanctions list of the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Index reported that, according to their information, no one has ever been removed from the list so quickly.
‼️BREAKING – @FM_Szijjarto: The U.S. Treasury has officially removed Minister Antal Rogán from its sanctions list—a clear sign that the winds have changed in Washington.
❗️ The original decision was labeled by the foreign minister as pure political revenge by a frustrated U.S.…
— Zoltan Kovacs (@zoltanspox) April 15, 2025
Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó reacted to the developments in a statement sent to MTI. He pointed out that the previous US administration, led by Joe Biden, had taken several measures against Hungary in “absolute revenge” following its crushing defeat in last November’s presidential election, before President Donald Trump took office. “One of these was the placing of my colleague Minister Rogán Antal on the sanctions list, which was clearly a political revenge by an ambassador who left Budapest in frustration,” he stated.
Well, that other winds are blowing in Washington is clearly demonstrated by the fact that a few minutes ago the US Department of Treasury announced that Antal Rogán had been removed from the sanctions list,”
he underlined.
The Hungarian Foreign Minister had a phone call with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday. They reviewed the main issues of bilateral cooperation and the state of play of peace efforts. “We are pleased to note that this is now a completely new period in our bilateral relations, defined by friendship and not enmity,” Péter Szijjártó stated. “Marco Rubio also thanked all the support and understanding that the Prime Minister and other members of the government have recently provided to the US administration,” he added. “We have had a good discussion, which has made it clear that this is a completely new era in Hungarian-American relations, and that this relationship is defined by friendship and absolute agreement on our main issues,” the Minister concluded.
Via MTI, Index; Featured photo via MTI/Kovács Tamás
