A US official, speaking anonymously to American media, said many of the passports were issued without stringent identity verification requirements. He claimed some of them were granted to criminals who posed a security threat. Hungary’s interior ministry said that the restrictions put the safety of Hungarians at risk and claimed that Washington was “taking revenge on Hungarians.” The US has sharply limited Hungary’s participation in a visa waiver system for failing to tackle security issues flagged by Washington. More than a million people have gained Hungarian passports under a fast-track citizenship plan introduced in 2011. Is Washington on a revenge mission ?