The phone calls played in court show the extraordinarily close relationship between two defendants of the corruption trial, a former notary and a businessman.
Continue readingTapped phone calls reveal new details of the corruption case in Central Budapest
Prime minister’s son-in-law gets hefty dividend from his company
István Tiborcz, the son-in-law of Viktor Orbán, took 460 million forints (1.5 million euros) in dividend from his IT firm. Continue reading
Here’s how Orban’s office helped his son-in-law’s company win tenders
Direkt36’s latest investigation revealed how the controversy around the Hungarian Prime Minister’s son-in-law is connected to the Prime Minister’s Office.
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Name of London luxury hotel where Lázár stayed has been revealed
After a lawsuit that lasted for more than two years, the government disclosed where János Lázár, head of the Prime Minister’s Office, stayed during his trip to London in 2012. It was a 5-star luxury hotel.
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The police dropped the accusations in the controversial public media contract case
The police dropped the accusation about the contract the public media signed with a company linked to person close to Fidesz. The state company paid millions for products that could have been obtained almost for free.
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Database revealing thousands of secret offshore companies published
Details of more than 200 thousand offshore companies are made public. The information is coming from the leaked documents known as the Panama Papers.
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Offshore secrets of Hungarian billionaires revealed
How members of the Hungarian business elite, including Sándor Csányi, the wealthiest person in the country, use offshore companies? The Panama Papers reveal new details.
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Panama Papers Source Offers Documents to Authorities and Calls for Action
This is how the anonymous whistleblower behind the Panama Papers gives justification for the leak in a statement.
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Public records on politically sensitive lands withheld from Direkt36
We wanted to look into public property data in the home town of the Hungarian prime minister. At first, we had access to the data, but since the beginning of April the authorities refuse to give out data, which is public by law. The land registry claims to protect the privacy of the estate owners from us.
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Controversial Hungarian company made record profit from state commissions
The company formerly owned by the son-in-law of the Hungarian prime minister had a blast last year: its revenues skyrocketed to 24,8 million euros, and the current owner, a billionaire businessman took out 3,1 million in dividends. Virtually all the income of the company comes from public procurements and other state commissions.
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How the Hungarian part of the Panama Papers project started
Our Panama Papers reporter on how he got involved in the world’s biggest international investigative reporting project.
Continue readingPanama papers show a hidden business link between a former Hungarian state bank chief and an Austrian media investor
Erős János korábbi MFB-vezér egy befolyásos osztrák üzletemberrel, Heinrich Pecinával üzletelt egy panamai cégen keresztül. Régóta ismerik egymást, vadászni is szoktak együtt.
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Panama Papers: Hungarian socialist politician left the party as his offshore interest emerged
Laszlo Boldvai made this decision after Direkt36 exposed, as part of the Panama Papers project, that his wife had an offshore company with a Swiss bank account.
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She’s a teacher with a Swiss bank account. And she’s also a politician’s wife
Socialist politician László Boldvai’s wife is a high school teacher but drives a BMW and had an offshore company with a Swiss bank account. A new story from the Panama Papers.
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Massive offshore leaks reveal former government politician’s hidden business
Millions of leaked offshore documents reveal the hidden businesses and assets of world leaders and politicians, including a former MP of Hungary’s governing party. He got involved in a secret offshore company while he was still in parliament.
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In Hungary, land records are public. Except in politically sensitive areas
Our reporter was denied access to public records when she was looking for property data in an area where the Hungarian prime minister’s family also owns lands.
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The state could have got it almost for free. They paid millions to a company linked to a Fidesz person
A media company owned by the state bought dozens of websites from a firm linked to a former Fidesz politician. The state firm paid hundreds of thousands of euros but could have had identical sites almost for free.
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Notary and businessman became extremely close, corruption trial reveals
The trial of the alleged District 5 corruption cases has started with the testimonies of the defendants. What emerged is a story of how a businessman with a wide network of contacts built an extremely close relationship with one of the most senior public officials of the district.
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How the relatives of Jobbik’s leaders got on the party payroll
The greatest problem of Hungary is corruption and nepotism, says Gábor Vona, the president of the Hungarian radical party, Jobbik. In this respect, Jobbik could be a subject of criticism as well. Close family members of seven out of eight board members of the party were commissioned with important or highly valued projects from Jobbik.
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The Hungarian PM’s son-in-law stepped back from public money. But his long-time business partner moved closer to it
For years, Endre Hamar was a close business partner of István Tiborcz, the son-in-law of the Hungarian prime minster. Hamar now became one of the first beneficiaries of the new European Union grant cycle, winning multiple public contracts.
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