All posts by Szabó András

Before the Hungarian government exited the Russian bank, it was helped out by a government-close financial institution

Szabó András 2023.04.17.

According to internal documents obtained by Direkt36, OTP closed the accounts of the International Investment Bank after the outbreak of the war. Followingly, the Russian-dominated financial institution turned to the government-close MKB to open a new account.

“We need to pressure” the Hungarians – Leaked documents reveal collapse of Russian-led bank in Budapest

Panyi Szabolcs, Szabó András, Wirth Zsuzsanna, Marton Kamilla, Pethő András 2023.03.13.

Internal documents obtained by Direkt36 reveal that the Hungarian government has become one of the strongest backers of the Russian-dominated International Investment Bank, which was brought to the brink of collapse by the war against Ukraine.

While former Fidesz politician rents properties to Rosatom, his son is paid for cleaning toilets

Szabó András 2023.02.02.

The company of Sándor Kovács signed contracts with the Russians building the Paks II nuclear power plant in the amount of almost 3 million euros. Direkt36’s report shows that recently his son has also been contracted by them.

We looked into the contracts signed by the Hungarian government with “Mr. Russia”

Szabó András 2022.12.13.

Direkt36 looked into the content of consultancy contracts that the Hungarian government signed last year with Klaus Mangold, an influential German businessman dubbed Mr. Russia for his Russian relations. These showed among others that he was entitled for a lucrative success fee in exchange for his assistance in the buy-back of the Budapest Airport.

Inside Viktor Orbán’s Response to the War in Ukraine

Szabó András, Panyi Szabolcs 2022.10.21.

Viktor Orbán came home from his talks with Vladimir Putin saying that he did not expect war. When it did break out, there was some wavering on the continuation of the government’s pro-Russian policy, but in the end, there was no change of direction because of the importance of Russian natural gas as well as longtime anti-Western sentiments.

A 10 legfontosabb részlet az Orbán háborús döntéseiről szóló tényfeltáró cikkből

Szabó András, Panyi Szabolcs 2022.10.21.

Mi érdekelte Putyint, amikor februárban találkozott Orbánnal? Miért látta lehetőségnek a háborút Rogán a kampányban? Miért nézi rossz szemmel az USA-t a magyar miniszterelnök? Itt vannak a nyomozásunk legizgalmasabb részletei.

Sinking ground on the Paks II nuclear power plant site could further delay the project

Szabó András 2022.06.22.

The Hungarian authority assessing the plans of Russian Rosatom will have to make a decision whether safe construction above a fault line which is vulnerable to earthquakes is possible.

Inside the opposition’s crushing defeat against Viktor Orbán

Panyi Szabolcs, Pethő András, Szabó András, Matyasovszki Fanni, Szőke Dániel 2022.05.17.

The chaos was even bigger inside the campaign than it looked from the outside. Direkt36 has investigated how the opposition, which led in the polls last fall, lost against Viktor Orbán’s governing party yet again.

Inside Orbán’s Fidesz party preparing for Hungary’s parliamentary election

Szabó András 2022.03.11.

For some time now, all government proposals land on PM Orbán’s desk with green, yellow, or red post-its. People with inside knowledge about the election strategy of Fidesz described the ruling party’s campaign strategy for the 2022 parliamentary elections and its conscious use of social media.

Spies, business deals and criminals. How Orbán favors Russian interests instead of Western ones

Panyi Szabolcs, Szabó András 2022.03.01.

In the past 12 years, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government has gotten into a situation many times, when they had to decide between the interests of Western allies, or Russia. Direkt36 has revealed many cases, where, in the end, the government favored Vladimir Putin and his circles. It occurred, for example, that they drove a Hungarian company out of business, just to be able to make space for a Russian firm.

Inside the internal government conflict over the permit for the controversial Paks 2 nuclear power plant

Szabó András 2022.01.31.

Direkt36 learned that the construction permit for the Paks 2 nuclear power plant caused a conflict between two government members, László Palkovics and János Süli. Süli wanted the long-awaited green light for the project, but due to serious problems in the Russian plans identified by Palkovics’s team the government decided not to issue the permit.

Another Pegasus target with political ties: a lawyer who oversees elections and worked for opposition party Jobbik

Pethő András, Szabó András 2022.01.27.

László Vértesy was targeted in the fall of 2018 when he was still the owner and director of an institute that had helped opposition party Jobbik in the last parliamentary election campaign.

Former Fidesz politician signs lucrative property rental contract  with Russians building Paks 2

Szabó András 2021.11.11.

The license permit for the Paks 2 power plant expansion is still delayed but project implementer Rosatom continues to publish new related tenders. According to Direkt36 research former local Fidesz president in the town where the project is located is one of the beneficiaries.

Inside the conflicts surrounding the construction of Hungary’s new nuclear plant

Szabó András 2021.09.27.

The state authority overseeing the Paks expansion has serious concerns about the Russian construction company’s plans, which are to be approved within a few days. Direkt36’s investigation has found that political pressure on the Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority grows as the government is unhappy with the authority’s process.

PM Orbán tried to prevent hospital dramas with vaccination. In the end, he could only hide them

Szabó András, Wirth Zsuzsanna 2021.08.23.

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.

“A story like out of a spy movie,” personal reports by two surveilled Direkt36 journalists

Panyi Szabolcs, Szabó András 2021.08.03.

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.

State Secretary who disagreed with a Hungarian cabinet member over Paks nuclear power plant targeted by Pegasus spyware

Szabó András, Pethő András 2021.07.24.

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.

The big winners of favorable state loans in Hungary? Viktor Orbán’s son-in-law and his circle

Szabó András 2021.05.21.

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.

Orbán’s son-in-law and his associates among beneficiaries of favorable state COVID-loans

Szabó András 2021.04.14.

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.

How Russians got a second chance at lucrative rail deal from Hungary

Panyi Szabolcs, Szabó András 2021.03.18.

A Russian company lobbied heavily against the €550m procurement of rail cars as they were unable to enter the competition. Then Hungary’s government suddenly canceled and restarted the bidding process.