All posts by Vorák Anita

Orbán’s son-in-law moves back towards public money by purchasing new company

When a politician’s wealth is hidden with the spouse

Hungarian PM’s errors also show the weakness of the wealth declaration system

Police closed investigation into the public tenders linked to Orban’s son-in-law

One and a half year of investigation was not enough to find a reasonable suspicion in the case of the controversial public procurement businesses of Elios Innovatív. According to the Hungarian police, it is the true nature of the free market that a company can set different prices for similar lamps. Continue reading

Prime minister’s son-in-law gets hefty dividend from his company

Here’s how Orban’s office helped his son-in-law’s company win tenders

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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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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How we investigated the son-in-law of Hungary’s prime minister

Baljós körülmények között kezdődött az a találkozó, amely Vorák Anitának, a Direkt36 újságírójának megadta a kezdő lökést az Orbán Viktor vejét érintő nyomozásához. Most elmeséli a cikksorozat készítésének részleteit.

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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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How Brussels took on the son-in-law of Hungary’s Prime Minister

Police investigate the inexplicably high prices of Elios, former company of PM’s son-in-law

Hungary PM’s son-in-law left behind inexplicably overpriced lamps

A company until recently co-owned by Viktor Orbán’s son-in-law has been awarded public contracts to improve street lighting in several cities. A Direkt36 investigation revealed that the price of the lamps was unusually high, which raised the budget significantly in many cities.

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This would have been a dream project for Orbán’s son-in-law, but the government stepped in

The company of Viktor Orbán’s son-in-law won public procurements worth hundreds of millions of forints with similarly written announcements. Until now, these announcements had been passing the government’s control without any problem, but now here is the first sign that this success story might come to a halt.

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Company of Hungarian PM’s Son-in-law Keeps Winning Public Projects Without Competition. Here Is What Made That Possible

Direkt36’s investigation shows that the majority of public procurements won by Elios Innovatív included specific requirements that could have been met only by the company or – in some cases – just a very small circle of companies.

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How Western Taxpayers Help Boost the Businesses of Hungary PM’s Inner Circle