Romanian man charged in Hungary with slavery-like forced labor of Nagykoros resident

Hungarian authorities announced that a Romanian man faces charges of slavery-type forced labor after allegedly exploiting a poor resident of Nagykoros. The arrangement began in 2022, when the victim agreed to work as a driver for modest accommodation, meals and a very low wage. At the start of 2023 the accused assaulted and threatened the worker, compelling him to carry out farm and building work while providing only the bare minimum of food and sporadic payments of roughly 1,000 forints.

The perpetrator subsequently transported the victim abroad, seized his passport and forced him to continue working without pay. After the victim’s situation was reported to police, the Romanian was arrested and an investigation into illegal detention and forced labor commenced.