The Trump administration is nervous about the good relationship between the Orban government and Huawei. The Chinese giant has been involved in several Hungarian state developments in recent years, and their devices have even emerged with Hungarian security agencies.
Continue readingHungary’s government is quietly neck-deep in the U.S.-Huawei war
Viktor Orban promised something to Vladimir Putin, but the U.S. intervened
Hungary’s government promised diplomatic immunities to the Russian-led, now Budapest-based International Investment Bank, but U.S. diplomacy had concerns over the bank’s alleged ties to Russian intelligence.
Continue reading
The Russians are poised to benefit from international deal financed by Hungary
In addition to the Russians, several government-close people are also watching closely the project developments. The business partner of Árpád Habony has appeared in the company that signed the contract. The investment is likely to come up at the Orbán-Putin meeting.
Continue reading
How the alliance with Israel has reshaped the politics of Viktor Orban
Direkt36 tells the story of how the Hungarian and Israeli Right slowly found each other through the relationship of Viktor Orban and Benjamin Netanyahu.
Continue reading
MP of Hungary’s strongest opposition party has ties to the government’s controversial trading house business
Opposition MP Lajos Olah has been dealing with China for quite a while. He is so successful that even Hungarian foreign minister Peter Szijjarto can also be regularly seen with him. And one of Olah’s acquaintances operates a Chinese trading house for 70 thousand euros monthly.
Continue reading
Nuclear tender that caused tension between Hungary and Russia will restart
All bidders for the almost 300 million euros public tender were disqualified.
Continue reading
Both Russian arms dealers Hungary extradited to Moscow instead of the U.S. now set free
Vladimir Lyubishin Sr. was released after a Moscow court hearing. The arms dealer was arrested in a joint operation by Hungarian and U.S. authorities, but Hungary’s government extradited him to Russia. According to his lawyer, Lyubishin is very happy and can’t wait to travel somewhere with a spa and sauna.
Continue readingRussians wanting a massive Paks 2 nuclear contract eventually got pushed out
The tender for one of the most important parts of the Paks nuclear power plant was published. It concerns the control system responsible for its safe operation. According to Direkt36 this caused a big conflict between the Hungarian and Russian parties.
Continue reading
IT company to be taken over by government-linked businessman had important clients: prosecutors and secret services
T-Systems Hungary is one of the biggest IT companies in the country. Soon it will be owned by Gellert Jaszai, a businessman with close ties to the government.
Continue reading
Orban promises the U.S. counterintelligence measures against a Russian-led bank
Viktor Orban has secretly promised many things to the U.S. government because they were worried about the Russian-led International Investment Bank’s (IIB) moving to Budapest. Meanwhile, the Hungarian government is trying to reassure U.S. congressmen that everything is OK with the IIB, although many find the bank suspicious.
Continue reading
This is how the mining company of Viktor Orban’s father became more profitable than its major competitors
The mining company of Viktor Orbán’s father has been involved in several major public construction projects in recent years and it has become one of the most successful companies in the market. Last year, it outperformed all of its major competitors in one important aspect: Győző Orbán’s company achieved the highest profit margin.
Continue reading
Direkt36 exposed an opposition politician’s businesses with government-linked figures. Now the EU is investigating the projects
A company of Gergo Czegledy, a local leader of the Hungarian Socialist Party in Budapest is involved in projects investigated by OLAF.
Continue reading
A man close to Viktor Orbán’s brother was the head of a department at the tax office. His department was dissolved after we reported about it
Tamás Balogh, an acquaintance of Orbán Győző Jr. became the head of the department in charge of major procurements at the tax office, while his other acquaintance won high-value public tenders from the same authority. After we revealed their relationship, the tax authority was restructured, Balogh is not a head of department any more.
Continue reading
I really like Norway! This is how Trump refused Viktor Orban’s deal aimed against NGOs
Viktor Orban arrived at the White House with a very delicate plan. He tried to persuade Donald Trump to help the Hungarian government’s efforts against independent Hungarian civil society organizations. In return, he suggested that he would not obstruct ongoing negotiations over a lucrative U.S.-Norwegian arms deal.
Continue reading
Companies dominate public lighting in Serbia with controversial Hungarian methods
After winning public lighting tenders in Hungary, Elios, a company previously owned by the son-in-law of Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán, started expanding internationally. In Serbia, companies linked to Elios have been participating in 12 public lighting tenders, with some partners that are connected to Serbia’s political elite.
Continue reading
Putin-controlled financial giant has close ties to IIB, the Russian-led bank moving to Hungary
The International Investment Bank, which is about to move its headquarters to Hungary, has been in close contact with VTB, Russia’s second largest bank.
Continue reading
How Orbán’s chief of staff and people close to him have used luxury cars in secret
Long-term car rental is a very expensive solution but it has the advantage of keeping the client using the car in secret. Antal Rogán and his wife, as well as the former deputy mayor of a Budapest district and former wife of Árpád Habony all used this option for several years. The car renting company has won several high-value state contracts in the past years.
Continue reading
How public money keeps flowing to Orban’s family through Hungary’s new tycoon
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban keeps repeating that he doesn’t deal with business issues. The companies of his family members, however, are benefitting from EU-funded constructions that are carried out by the business empire of Lorinc Meszaros, a friend of the PM. We explain their business relationship in a short video.
Continue reading
Trump and Orban to cut billion-dollar arms deals at the possible expense of Hungarian NGOs
U.S. Ambassador David Cornstein boasted about billion-dollar arms deals with Lockheed Martin and Raytheon. However, Hungary wants to use an air defense system deal as leverage to gain government control over funding of independent NGOs.
Continue reading
Hungarian companies also involved in “Grand Theft Europe”, the EU’s biggest tax fraud
The shockingly high amount of 50 billion euros is robbed every year from European taxpayers through so-called VAT carousel fraud. An international investigation reveals that Hungarian companies have also been involved in criminal networks.
Continue reading