A kormány tavasz óta tagadja, hogy kínai óriáshitelből épülne a Fudan budapesti kampusza. A Direkt36 által megszerzett belső dokumentumok mást mutatnak.
Continue readingA legkínosabb információkat takarta ki a Fudan-iratokból a kormány
He has been uncovering the lavish lifestyle of Viktor Orbán’s circles. This summer, he was surveilled with Pegasus spyware
Photographer-journalist Dániel Németh has spent years investigating and documenting the luxury lifestyle of Hungary’s ruling elite, following them with his camera as they travelled around Europe. This time, however, someone was watching him too.
Continue reading
Resignations follow our exposé of lavish spending at a pro-government think tank
As Direkt36 exposed controversial expenditures at a publicly funded think tank ran by the son of a former PM, several officials decided to leave.
Continue reading
Anti-Orbán news site’s publisher came under surveillance when his contract with an opposition party was revealed
Páva’s smartphone was hacked with the cyberweapon developed by Israeli company NSO on March 16, the very day when it became public information that opposition party Democratic Coalition signed a contract with his company for social media consulting.
Continue reading
Hungarian opposition publisher was surveilled with Pegasus in spring 2021
Previous reporting showed that Pegasus was used against Hungarian targets in 2018 and 2019. Now there is evidence that Zoltán Páva, a former politician who is a news publisher now, was under surveillance in March and May this year.
Continue reading
PM Orbán tried to prevent hospital dramas with vaccination. In the end, he could only hide them
Despite flaws in February, how did the Hungarian government manage to present its epidemiological measures as a success in the eyes of the public? Here is the background story of Hungary’s third COVID-19 wave.
Continue reading
“A story like out of a spy movie,” personal reports by two surveilled Direkt36 journalists
Two Hungarian journalists Szabolcs Panyi and András Szabó share their personal reports of how it felt to find out they were surveilled through their mobile phones for weeks and months.
Continue reading
Hungarian journalist reporting on corruption surveilled with Pegasus for months
During her surveillance, Brigitta Csikász, one of Hungary’s most experienced crime reporters, wrote about the misuse of EU funds among other topics. Csikász’s investigations revealed that, despite the alarms of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), Hungarian authorities lacked either the will or the ability to prosecute the suspicious spending of EU money.
Continue reading
Opposition mayor has long suspected to be surveilled. Now we know that he has been targeted with Pegasus
The mayor of Gödöllő was targeted at a time when he was in a serious conflict with the government. People close to him have also appeared in the leaked database of targets selected for Pegasus.
Continue reading
State Secretary who disagreed with a Hungarian cabinet member over Paks nuclear power plant targeted by Pegasus spyware
Attila Aszódi became a target shortly before his dismissal in 2019 at a time when he had several conflicts with the Hungarian cabinet member supervising Paks 2. The State Secretary disagreed with the measures that would have benefitted the Russian party building the new nuclear power plant and would have changed the original timetable of the project.
Continue readingWhile a tax audit is underway at his foundation, the earnings of Péter Antall rise high
The think tank of the late Hungarian PM has been awarded almost 5 million forints from the government so far, yet it made losses in 2020. Earlier, Direkt36 uncovered its problematic spending and costly travels.
Continue reading
President of the Hungarian Bar Association and several other lawyers have been targeted by Pegasus
Professional secrecy does not seem to protect lawyers from becoming targets of surveillance. Bánáti was targeted during a famous murder case, while another lawyer became the target at the time when he wanted to run against the Fidesz mayor of a small town during the last municipal elections.
Continue reading
Hungarian journalists and critics of Orbán were targeted with Pegasus, a powerful Israeli cyberweapon
An international investigation has found that Pegasus has been abused by countries around the world. Hungarian targets include media company owner Zoltán Varga and people connected to him, Lajos Simicska’s son and lawyer, as well as several investigative journalists.
Continue reading
12904. That is my Mom – The untold story of the victims of the coronavirus
Nearly thirty thousand Hungarians died of coronavirus. Who were they? What happened to them from their first symptoms to their death? Article, photo gallery and a documentary film.
Continue reading
Around the world in luxury: How the son of a former PM benefits from Orbán’s regime
The think tank ran by Péter Antall has received lucrative support from Viktor Orbán’s government. Direkt36 has obtained internal documents about the organization’s lavish spending.
Continue reading
The big winners of favorable state loans in Hungary? Viktor Orbán’s son-in-law and his circle
The state-owned Hungarian Development Bank provided 166 million euros in loans to PM Orbán’s son-in-law and his business partners. It almost fully covered the purchase of one of Budapest’s landmark hotels by one of the richest Hungarians.
Continue reading
To please China, Orbán’s government shifted plans to favor Fudan’s campus over Student City
An internal conflict erupted in Hungary’s government as the Budapest Student City project, designed for low-income Hungarian university students, was scrapped in favor of a Chinese private university for wealthy foreigners. Direkt36 also acquired Fudan Hungary University’s financial projections.
Continue reading
Inside the secrets of the Orbán family’s businesses
Viktor Orbán claims that he does not have any savings, but his family members have earned millions of euros in recent years, partly from public money from the Hungarian state and the European Union. We explain how we investigated the businesses of Orbán’s family in an animated video.
Continue reading
Orbán’s son-in-law and his associates among beneficiaries of favorable state COVID-loans
The loan for small- and medium-sized companies was announced by governor of Hungary’s Central Bank György Matolcsy at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Only a few received loans as high as István Tiborcz and two of his associates.
Continue reading
Huge Chinese loan to cover the construction of Fudan University in Budapest
Chinese workers will construct Fudan’s Budapest campus using Chinese building materials, all covered by a Chinese loan, but the Hungarian state is the one paying the huge bill. Fudan University has already picked a contractor: state-owned China State Construction Engineering Corporation, a company embroiled in suspicions of corruption and espionage in several countries around the world.
Continue reading