Lawyers of bondholders told Direkt36 that hundreds of thousands of euros were stuck with the intermediary company VolDan. Meanwhile, the company’s Hungarian representative office has become unavailable, and the company is under a compulsory strike off procedure from the official registry of companies.
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Russians demand their money in Hungary’s controversial golden visa scheme
Russian spy chief’s son has a Budapest home address. In the company property of an old friend of Orbán’s chief of staff
Official document shows that Andrey Naryshkin, who acquired residency permit in the Hungarian golden visa scheme, had his registered home address in a property owned by pro-government businessman Shabtai Michaeli’s company just a few months ago. According to the government, Naryshkin’s residency permit was revoked by the counterintelligence service two years ago, but the case was stalled in court.
Continue readingOrbán government keeps silent about Russian residency bond owners – even as the EU prepares to end the practice
Fidesz MEPs did not vote for the revision of the visas already issued. Several beneficiaries of Putin’s regime have previously obtained Hungarian papers.
Continue readingSpies, business deals and criminals. How Orbán favors Russian interests instead of Western ones
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.
Continue readingSince the closure of Hungary’s Golden Visa Program, more foreigners receive residence permits for unclear purposes
In the past two years, over 9 thousand foreigners received residence permits for “other purposes”. Most of them came from Iran, China, the United States and Russia. Hungary’s Immigration Office Claims that that it does not have any statistical data about why exactly the applicants of such permits wish to reside in Hungary.
Continue readingHungary revoked 16 Golden Visa holders’ residence permit. It seems that the moneyman of the Syrian president and the family of Russian SVR chief were not among them
A state secretary earlier said that problematic residence permits had already been revoked. He must have referred to other people.
Continue readingMoneyman of Syria’s president received Hungarian residence permit through Russia
Atiya Khoury, who is on the US sanction list, used an address in South Moscow to apply for residence permit through Hungary’s controversial Golden Visa Program. His application was handled by a company with ties to Viktor Orbán’s advisor.
Continue readingPeople 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.
Continue readingMembers of Putin’s state machine received Hungarian residence permits through controversial Golden Visa program
A joint investigation of Direkt36, 444 and Novaya Gazeta about Russian parliamentary members, executives of state-owned companies, the family of the chief of Russian foreign intelligence service and a businessman reportedly linked to organised crime.
Continue readingIt only took ten days for the Syrian dictator’s moneyman to get Hungarian residence permit
Hungarian authorities raised no objections against granting Atiya Khoury a Hungarian residence permit when he had already been on the US sanction list for supporting Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
Continue readingCompanies formerly involved in Hungary’s Golden Visa program now advertise new visa business in Vietnam
Advertisements about Hungarian residency through real estate investment first appeared in China, now in Vietnam. This is not a state-run program, but it is partly organised by companies that were also involved in the government’s controversial residency bond program.
Continue readingMP files criminal complaint over Hungarian residence permit of the Syrian dictator’s moneyman
The MP was informed earlier that Hungarian authorities found no risk during Atiya Khoury’s security screening.
Continue readingNew Panama Papers Inquiry Reveals Details of Hungary’s Golden Visa Program
A businessman involved in the controversial Hungarian residence program told Mossack Fonseca that he believes the Chinese government is behind one of the companies running the scheme.
Continue readingCompany that announced new Hungarian immigration program backs down and deletes ads
The Hong Kong-based company now claims that it had not been circumspect enough. According to the government, the program is a plain lie.
Continue readingNew Hungarian immigration program advertised by a businessman, previously in controversial Golden Visa scheme
A Chinese advertisement says that applicants have to invest in real estate in order to receive Hungarian papers. According to the company that advertises the new programme, everything is discussed with Hungarian authorities. However, the Immigration Office denies this.
Continue readingThe moneyman of Bashar al-Assad received permanent residence permit in Hungary after having been put on U.S. sanction list
Hungarian authorities do not plan to carry out further investigations or to revoke the permanent residence permit of two the two Syrian men with controversial backgrounds named in the joint investigation of Direkt36 and 444. According to the Immigration Office, one of them did not buy residency bonds, contrary to what a close relative of his told Direkt36.
Continue readingThe moneyman of Bashar al-Assad and a suspect of a serious international crime participated in Hungary’s Golden Visa program
People who could pose serious security risks for Hungary and the European Union were granted residency through a controversial Golden Visa scheme run by the Hungarian government.
Continue readingSenior official says no residency bond buyers stayed in Hungary. But we have found several of them
Chinese citizens have been flocking to Hungary. But since public outrages forced the suspension of the country’s Golden Visa program last year, these new guests have begun to wonder if they’ll get their investment back.
Continue readingViktor Orbán’s advisor has a company in Hong Kong, in the very same room as businesses connected to Hungary’s residency bond programme
Árpád Habony is the sole shareholder of the firm, which chose exactly that secretary that also works for the local residency bond company. After an exclusive helicopter tour and a trip in a private jet, here is the new Hong Kong connection.
Continue readingThe Hungarian state gave them a good business. Now they own luxury apartments in Budapest
One of the companies involved in the controversial residency bond business has bought up dozens of apartments in Andrássy Avenue, perhaps the most elegant street of Budapest.
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