They sprayed anti-migrant slogan to Jobbik posters in the run-up of the 2018 campaign. Several people linked to the Foreign Ministry were in the group, Direkt36 revealed.
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A businessman known for yachting with Hungarian minister Péter Szijjártó was a member of a group of Fidesz activists destroying opposition’s posters
We looked into the contracts signed by the Hungarian government with “Mr. Russia”
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.
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How did Szijjártó’s futsal player friend become a top businessman?
We have explored the business successes of Péter Szijjártó’s old colleague and teammate, and how hundreds of millions of forints of public money from the Foreign Ministry contributed to them.
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“Az erőszak garantálja a sikert” – Így tarolta le a fél világot az Uber
124 ezer belső irat szivárgott ki az Uber amerikai techóriástól, az International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) nevű nemzetközi újságíró szervezet és 180 újságíró dolgozta fel őket. Az együttműködés egyedüli magyar tagja a Direkt36 volt. Az iratok az Uber ellentmondásos belső működésébe és agresszív lobbizási gyakorlatába nyújtanak betekintést.
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Leaked files of Uber reveal secret lobbying operations in Hungary
As part of an international investigative project, Direkt36 has gained access to the lobbying files of Uber, the world’s most well-known ride-sharing company. These documents revealed that the US company’s representatives had access to Hungarian ministers and other decision-makers. In the end, however, the Orbán government turned out to be more afraid of upsetting Hungarian taxi drivers, and this was partly the reason why Uber was defeated, and eventually left Hungary.
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A brand new Porsche, a special Ferrari, and billionaire businesses show the rise of Matolcsy’s circle
Direkt36 presents the connection between businessman Ádám Matolcsy, the son of the issue-bank’s director, and the entrepreneur Bálint Fülöp Somlai, who also controls billionaire state tenders with exclusive photos. We also show the story of their enrichment and how their luxurious lifestyle is being helped by state businesses.
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Resignations follow our exposé of lavish spending at a pro-government think tank
As Direkt36 exposed controversial expenditures at a publicly funded think tank ran by the son of a former PM, several officials decided to leave.
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Around the world in luxury: How the son of a former PM benefits from Orbán’s regime
The think tank ran by Péter Antall has received lucrative support from Viktor Orbán’s government. Direkt36 has obtained internal documents about the organization’s lavish spending.
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Valuable archaeological treasures were demolished under a priority construction of the Hungarian government
During the reconstruction of the Buda Hospital, archaeological finds from Roman times were unearthed. Civil engineering works were done by the same company that will be responsible for groundworks related to the Paks nuclear power plant expansion.
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“Mr. Russia” is now helping Viktor Orbán’s government to nurture German relations
Klaus Mangold, an influential German businessman with links to the European and Russian business elites has been advising the Orbán-government for many years. His consultancy contracts obtained by Direkt36 show that Mangold has been recently focusing on deepening Hungarian-German industrial relations.
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Companies close to Orbán’s allies will operate Hungarian trading houses in the Balkan
The Hungarian government started to rebuild its controversial trading house system on the Balkans – once again, with the old local partners that have good political connections.
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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.
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People close to Viktor Orbán’s top advisor were involved in controversial golden visa program, confidential documents show
Documents obtained by Direkt36 prove that a Georgian-Israeli businessman close to Árpád Habony was involved in the operations of VolDan, the company that sold Hungarian residency bonds in Russia.
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Orbán legtöbbet költő tanácsadójának étkezési szokásait védve titkolózik a kormány
Hegedűs Zsuzsa rekord összeget költött reprezentációra. A számlákat nem mutatja meg a kormány, mert azokból megismerhetnénk a kedvenc boltjait. Pedig állítólag nem magának vásárolt havi átlag 136 ezerért.
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Orbán’s best paid advisor spends an outstanding amount on representation too
Zsuzsa Hegedűs is the advisor of the Hungarian PM on social cohesion.
She recently got an outstanding pay-raise and she also spends the most
on representation despite her apparent inactivity.
He served as deputy state minister. Meanwhile his company earned 325 thousand euros from state owned companies
György Kozmann refused to answer questions about how he could reconcile his government position and his company’s public contracts.
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He was an interpreter for the Hungarian Prime Minister’s friend. Now he is a major player in state-funded railway projects
Ferenc Sakalj helped the billionaire Lőrinc Mészáros to buy a house on a Croatian island. He soon became a powerful sports manager and a railway company owner.
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He was complaining about business. Then his acquaintance became minister
Some years ago Sándor Börcsök, a Hungarian liquidator had complained about not receiving lucrative assignments. Then his old acquaintance, Miklós Seszták became the minister responsible for the liquidation industry and many things have changed.
Continue readingThe police dropped the accusations in the controversial public media contract case
The police dropped the accusation about the contract the public media signed with a company linked to person close to Fidesz. The state company paid millions for products that could have been obtained almost for free.
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The state could have got it almost for free. They paid millions to a company linked to a Fidesz person
A media company owned by the state bought dozens of websites from a firm linked to a former Fidesz politician. The state firm paid hundreds of thousands of euros but could have had identical sites almost for free.
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