Zsolt Hernádi

MOL Group chairman-CEO, businessman convicted in absentia in a Croatian bribery case

Corruption

Zsolt Hernádi, chairman-CEO of Hungarian oil and gas group MOL, was sentenced in absentia to two years in prison by a Zagreb court in December 2019 for allegedly paying a €10 million bribe to then-Croatian prime minister Ivo Sanader in 2008-2009 to secure MOL's control rights over Croatian oil company INA; Sanader was sentenced to six years in the same case. Croatia has kept an arrest warrant and a corresponding European arrest warrant against Hernádi in effect ever since, though both men deny the charges. In March 2026, Hungary's Budapest-Capital Regional Court issued a final refusal to recognize the Croatian verdict, meaning it cannot be enforced in Hungary; Hernádi faced no legal or professional consequences and remained MOL's chief executive through mid-2026. A June 2026 report described the outstanding warrant as having functioned as a useful lever of political control over Hernádi under the Orbán government, even as it allowed him to keep running the company.

Sources

Croatian Court: 6 Years for Ex-PM for Graft, 2 for Hungarian CEO → OCCRP · 2019-12-30

Panyi Szabolcs: Továbbra is érvényben van a Hernádi Zsolt ellen kiadott európai elfogatóparancs → hvg.hu · 2026-06-29

Nehéz máshogy érteni: megfenyegették Hernádi Zsoltot a Mol élén, ezt tervezi vele a Tisza-kormány – „Érvényben van az elfogatóparancs” → Világgazdaság · 2026-06-30