The United States imposed sanctions on a senior member of the Hungarian government for alleged corruption, the U.S. Treasury said on Tuesday, a move Budapest said it would challenge when President-elect Donald Trump takes power.

A senior Hungarian government official close to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was hit Tuesday with U.S. sanctions for his alleged involvement in corruption in Hungary, a rare step against a sitting official in an allied country.

The US Treasury has imposed sanctions on Antal Rogan, one of the most powerful men in Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz government and the minister in charge of his cabinet office. It is a rare move between Nato allies,

On Tuesday, a top Hungarian government official and adviser to Prime Minister Viktor Orban was sanctioned for alleged corrupt activity by the United States, according to the U.S. Department of State.

By Tamas Csonka The US has sanctioned Antal Rogan, a close ally of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, for his alleged leading role in systemic public corruption in Hungary, outgoing US Ambassador David Pressman informed local media at an extraordinary press conference on January 7.

The U.S. administration announced on Tuesday that it would sanction Antal Rogan, the head of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's cabinet, for corruption. According to the State Department, the case of the prime minister's close associate exemplifies "state capture by oligarchs and undemocratic actors.