Lajos Simicska failed to craft a winning strategy and came under intense pressure from Orbán’s political machine. At the end of his campaign the oligarch even thought that his life was in danger and even purchased radiation detectors.
Continue readingInside the fall of the oligarch who turned against Viktor Orbán
Itt a hét legérdekesebb rész a Simicska bukását bemutató cikkünkből
A 2014-es ajánlat Orbánnak, a félelem a sugárveszélytől, és az állítólagos videóvallomás. Kigyűjtöttük az eredeti hosszú cikk legfontosabb és legérdekesebb részleteit.
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Elegant flat beside the Danube and Romanian lands remained invisible in Hungarian legislator’s asset declaration
Erik Bánki said that he currently “halfway” lives in the elegant Roman Wellness Home gated community, although there is no sign of this in his asset declarations. He did not declare the flat and over 100 hectares of land in Romania because they were owned by his companies, not by him personally.
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Russian diplomats caught spying in Hungary get expelled quietly as usual
Russian intelligence organizes some of their Balkans operations from Hungary, but despite close Russian-Hungarian relations they can not always avoid retaliation. In 2016, the Military National Security Service exposed a GRU officer. Although Hungary’s government never informed the public, approximately ten Russian spies have been busted since 2010.
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Paks 2: This is what it looks like when influential people are positioning themselves around the project
An association with relations across the political spectrum appeared around Paks 2 last year. It wanted to act as an intermediary during the nuclear power plant expansion, and even though influential people also showed up within the association, it failed to deliver on its plans in the end.
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Failed Bioethanol Project in Romania Leaves Unanswered Questions for Hungarian Legislator
Erik Bánki, a senior member of Hungary’s governing Fidesz party owns a lot of land in Hungary, but now we have also found his lands in Romania. He bought them for a huge bioethanol project, but it is unclear how he financed the purchases. According to him, various companies gave him loans, but he doesn’t remember their names.
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Hungary revoked 16 Golden Visa holders’ residence permit. It seems that the moneyman of the Syrian president and the family of Russian SVR chief were not among them
A state secretary earlier said that problematic residence permits had already been revoked. He must have referred to other people.
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Global investigation revealed medical device industry’s systemic flaws, which affect Hungary as well
Direkt36 has obtained nearly 180 reports on incidents concerning problematic medical device use in Hungary. They contain details on insulin pump sets, hip implants and breast augmentation surgeries.
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Lord of War in Budapest: The DEA busted two Russian arms dealers and Hungary extradited them to Moscow
The extradition controversy further increased the tension between the United States and the government of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Continue readingMoneyman of Syria’s president received Hungarian residence permit through Russia
Atiya Khoury, who is on the US sanction list, used an address in South Moscow to apply for residence permit through Hungary’s controversial Golden Visa Program. His application was handled by a company with ties to Viktor Orbán’s advisor.
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People close to Viktor Orbán began to take over his fallen enemy’s empire
A lawyer with ties to Viktor Orbán and his closest business ally bought an agricultural company of Lajos Simicska, who fought a long and unsuccessful campaign against Orbán before this year’s parliamentary election.
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Russia and Hungary seemed to clash over the Skripal poisoning. In the background, it was a different story
The expulsions of diplomats after the Skripal poisoning were carefully arranged in a way not to endanger the special relationship between Moscow and Budapest. Documents and interviews show that both countries made efforts not to cause real damage to one another.
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People close to Viktor Orbán’s top advisor were involved in controversial golden visa program, confidential documents show
Documents obtained by Direkt36 prove that a Georgian-Israeli businessman close to Árpád Habony was involved in the operations of VolDan, the company that sold Hungarian residency bonds in Russia.
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A Hungarian company came under Russian influence. Now it could receive another contract in Hungary’s nuclear project
The car rental company that is likely to be contracted by Rosatom is under the influence of a Russian bank. One of the company’s owners previously held high in a gas trading company with ties to Russia.
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The business partner of Lorinc Meszaros is bidding for two valueable Paks 2 tenders
This is the first time that government-close business circles have appeared as bidders in Paks2-related tenders.
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Members of Putin’s state machine received Hungarian residence permits through controversial Golden Visa program
A joint investigation of Direkt36, 444 and Novaya Gazeta about Russian parliamentary members, executives of state-owned companies, the family of the chief of Russian foreign intelligence service and a businessman reportedly linked to organised crime.
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Viktor Orban’s government has become an enthusiastic partner in Russia’s financial expansion
Vladimir Putin resurrected the International Investment Bank a few years ago to increase Russia’s influence in Central and Eastern Europe. Hungary has become one of the most active investors of the financial institution.
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It only took ten days for the Syrian dictator’s moneyman to get Hungarian residence permit
Hungarian authorities raised no objections against granting Atiya Khoury a Hungarian residence permit when he had already been on the US sanction list for supporting Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
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Heavy traffic at the stone mine of Viktor Orbán’s father reveals new details of the mysterious business operation
Many trucks carrying products of the mine belong to a company that has been winning lucrative state construction contracts in recent years.
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Company of Orbán’s son-in-law moved into a luxury villa owned by influential businessmen
The move is another sign of the increasingly close relationship between the prime minister’s family and the country’s business elite.
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