Although Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government published its plans for the taxpayer funded Fudan Hungary University, it censored all politically sensitive and explosive information from the documents.
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Orbán’s government tried to hide sensitive information on €1.5B Chinese university project
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.
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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.
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“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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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How Russians got a second chance at lucrative rail deal from Hungary
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.
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Chinese spy games in Orbán’s Hungary
The policy of ’Eastern Opening’ set out by Viktor Orbán in hope of tons of Chinese money never actually resulted in momentous Chinese investments. The China-friendly environment in Hungary, on the other hand, came in handy for Chinese intelligence. Direkt36 presents the hidden history of Hungarian-Chinese relations.
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Secret battles of Orban’s rival – Budapest’s first year under opposition rule
What conflicts emerged between Gergely Karácsony and Ferenc Gyurcsány? What did Antal Rogán tell the mayor? Who are the most influential people at Budapest’s city hall? Direkt36 presents the behind-the-scenes story of the capital’s opposition leadership.
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How Orban played Germany, Europe’s great power
Why isn’t Germany tougher with the Hungarian government? Viktor Orbán has been building his alliances for decades through personal friendships, political gimmicks and pouring hundreds of billions of forints on German corporations. Direkt36 explored in detail the hidden history of Hungarian-German relations.
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Iranian students expelled from Hungary during the pandemic may be able to return
Criminal charges have been dropped against the majority of the Iranian students who were expelled from Hungary in the spring for violating quarantine rules, and the Hungarian authorities have also begun to revoke their expulsion orders.
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Huawei is slowly pushed out from European 5G networks but the Orban government still supports them
5G rollout has finally started in Hungary during the pandemic. Telenor, the partly state-owned mobile operator could be the lifeline for the beleaguered Chinese company.
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Tens of thousands of forgotten Hungarians on the frontlines of the coronavirus
While the conditions in nursing homes for elderly have become the number one political issue in Hungary, there has been little talk of homes for the disabled and psychiatric patients, or the social workers who provide care to them. Their problems are almost invisible.
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How once cherished Iranians became coronavirus scapegoats in Orban’s Hungary
Hungary saw great business opportunities in Iran and the Orban government tried to strenghten relations through university scholarships and residence permits. Then the course of world politics and the coronavirus changed everything.
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Hungary pressured by diplomats to stop blocking NATO-Ukraine talks
There is growing pressure on Hungary’s government to stop blocking high-level Ukraine-NATO meetings. They are accused of doing a favor to Russia, while Hungary says “we’re not blocking just for fun”.
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U.S. is still trying to push out the Russian-led bank from Hungary
American and British diplomacy are upset that the International Investment Bank has relocated its headquarters to Budapest. The bank’s employees were supposed to receive wide diplomatic immunities, but the Orban government seems to be backtracking on issuing them.
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