All posts by Pethő András

The U.S. is so fed up with Hungary’s passport fraud problem that it’s threatening to kick the country out of its visa waiver program

Pethő András, John Hudson 2018.05.10.

Viktor Orban and Donald Trump might be kindred spirits but there is a serious conflict between their governments over national security threats, a joint story by Direkt36 and The Washington Post has revealed.

How we teamed up with The Washington Post to expose a secret conflict between the U.S. and Hungary

Pethő András 2018.05.10.

A few weeks ago we reached out to The Washington Post and told them that we are working on a story that might be of interest for them as well. It turned out that it did.

Businessman winning state contracts watched football match with Viktor Orbán

Pethő András 2018.04.04.

Gábor Szentgyörgyi’s company does not even have a functioning website but it has been winning lucrative state contracts in recent years.

Orbán’s Game

Pethő András, Szabó András 2018.03.12. 3 Comments

Intelligence operations, huge business deals, and personal ambitions. These are some of the factors that drive Viktor Orbán in pulling his country closer to Russia.

The Eight Most Interesting Revelations From Our Orbán-Putin Story

Pethő András, Szabó András 2018.03.12.

Why did Orbán’s ally had a business meeting with the Russian secret service? Why was it so important for Orbán to buy the Russian stake in Hungary’s oil company? How tough is Putin with his own men? And some more interesting details from our investigation.

How did we investigate the businesses of the Orbán family? And what did it have to do with running and cycling?

Pethő András, Zöldi Blanka 2018.02.25. 1 Comment

The story was the result of a complex months-long investigation. Here is the five most interesting episodes of our reporting.

How Russians forced out Hungarians from a major company of Hungary’s new nuclear project

Pethő András, Szabó András 2018.02.15. 4 Comments

Its managing director, Attila Szitár-Csanádi, is known as one of Rosatom’s most trusted people in Hungary. He has played an important role in a controversial decision of the University of Debrecen, which announced last year that it would give an honorary citizenship to president Putin.

Company of Hungarian Prime Minister’s brother received EU subsidy yet again

Pethő András 2018.02.09.

While the government has stepped up its attacks on Brussels, the family of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán keeps benefiting from EU funds.

Company linked to Orbán’s brother won major public tender with the highest bid

Pethő András, Szabó András 2018.01.30.

The other bidders offered lower prices but they were eliminated from the procurement.

Company Produced 100-fold Growth After Winning Public Tenders. Its Owner Is Linked to Viktor Orbán’s Brother Through Wrestling

Pethő András 2018.01.16.

The company IMG Solutions does not even have a functioning website but in a couple of years it has become a prominent member of Hungary’s IT sector. Thanks to wrestling, the owner of the company knows well Orbán Győző Jr., brother of the prime minister.

Hungarian businessmen with political ties appear in leaked Maltese business data

Zöldi Blanka, Pethő András 2017.11.06.

Paradise Papers revealed that hundreds of Hungarians do business in Malta. Many of them have political ties, including the ex-leaders of a company that prepares Hungary’s power plant expansion project, a former treasurer of Ferenc Gyurcsany’s socialist government and sport entrepreneurs connected to far-fight Jobbik.

Hidden businesses of influential Hungarians revealed in new massive offshore leak

Pethő András 2017.11.06. 1 Comment

The Paradise Papers project has revealed the links of a top Hungarian diplomat’s ties to a wealthy family and showed the former offshore interests of a businessman close to the government.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s brother involved in company with offshore links and Central Asian past

Pethő András 2017.10.09.

Győző Orbán Jr. has become involved in Yntergy Zrt through one of his companies. One of Yntergy’s major shareholders is an offshore company allegedly owned by a mysterious Russian individual.

Reshuffle at the Orbán companies: PM’s brother quits a firm while his father gets positions in two other

Pethő András 2017.09.18.

One of the affected companies was also part of some big state-financed construction projects.

How an oligarch’s fall made way for the Orbán family’s businesses

Pethő András 2017.08.30. 1 Comment

Lajos Simicska, a former ally of prime minister Viktor Orbán, controlled how much state contracts the companies of the Orbán family could get. But when Simicska and the prime minister had a falling out, the companies started to prosper.

Police gave up hope of finding perpetrator in Budapest construction crime

Pethő András 2017.08.22. 1 Comment

The police started its investigation after Direkt36 had exposed that the construction project was given to a company that provided false references in the bidding process.

Companies of the Orbán family slowed down but they keep churning out hefty profits

Pethő András 2017.05.30. 2 Comments

Direkt36 has recently revealed that the companies have been secretly benefiting from EU-funded public projects.

How EU-funded projects secretly contributed to the Orbán family’s enrichment

Pethő András, Zöldi Blanka 2017.05.09. 7 Comments

A Direkt36 investigation has revealed that the companies of the family of Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán have been involved in several public projects.

How we investigated the death of Népszabadság, Hungary’s biggest daily

Pethő András 2017.04.12. 3 Comments

Last November, we published a behind-the-scenes account of the closure of Népszabadság, Hungary’s biggest daily newspaper. András Pethő, who led the reporting team, is explaining how the story was made.

New trial ordered in Budapest downtown corruption case

Pethő András 2017.02.08. 2 Comments

One of the defendants is the former notary of Budapest’s District 5.