Archive

Hungary’s diplomats with controversial backgrounds caught up in an investigation by international journalists
Direkt36 has been part of the "Shadow Diplomats" project, an investigation into the murky world of honorary consuls, led by

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

Inside Viktor Orbán’s Response to the War in Ukraine
Viktor Orbán came home from his talks with Vladimir Putin saying that he did not expect war. When it did

The inside story of how Pegasus was brought to Hungary
Direkt36 has revealed that the cyber weapon was purchased by the Hungarian state through a broker company that later became

Áron Orbán promotes both diet-food and weapons. Meanwhile, pro-government businessmen are popping up around him
The company of the prime minister's brother runs a shop of Norbert Schobert's chain in Croatia. The gun shop he

A Panama-iratok kiszivárogtatója szerint az orosz kormány végezni akar vele
The revelations about offshore firms brought to light by the source behind the Panama Papers toppled government leaders and spawned

How state funds help the miracle business of a top minister’s former wife
We have revealed where the money comes from for Cecília Rogán-Gaál's tabloid’s publishing house

Western allies puzzled by Hungary’s mild reaction to Russian hacking
Russia's hacking of the Hungarian foreign ministry is a concern for the EU, and the U.S. has already warned Hungary

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

Sinking ground on the Paks II nuclear power plant site could further delay the project
The Hungarian authority assessing the plans of Russian Rosatom will have to make a decision whether safe construction above a

Orbán 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

Cables show how Orbán’s diplomats gather information on journalists
The information contained in these documents was gathered by diplomats of the Orbán government from social media profiles of journalists

Inside the opposition’s crushing defeat against Viktor Orbán
The chaos was even bigger inside the campaign than it looked from the outside. Direkt36 has investigated how the opposition,

The cost of the MNB’s new prestige investment, given to a friend of Matolcsy’s son, has been very high
The bank headed by György Matolcsy has spent tens of billions of public money on the renovation of the Postal

The attorney became a Pegasus target when one of Hungary’s most notorious murder cases took a turn
Ilona Patócs is not the first lawyer to be targeted, despite the fact that protecting client communication is an essential

Putin’s hackers gained full access to Hungary’s foreign ministry networks, the Orbán government has been unable to stop them
Russian state actors hacked into the Hungarian Foreign Ministry's computer network compromising internal correspondence and even a secure network that

Former Hungarian ambassador to China was targeted with Pegasus – shortly before becoming senior advisor to Orbán
Cecília Szilas is not the first high-ranking Hungarian official who was targeted with the Pegasus spyware. Her phone was added

Inside Viktor Orbán’s war for Index, Hungary’s most influential news website
Index had long been a primary target for Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s media crackdown. The final assault came in the

Inside Orbán’s Fidesz party preparing for Hungary’s parliamentary election
For some time now, all government proposals land on PM Orbán's desk with green, yellow, or red post-its. People with

“Please, don’t report about this at all! Thanks!” – How the Hungarian state news agency censors politically unpleasant news
Documents obtained by Direkt36 show how the government dictates the news at Hungarian state news agency MTI. Self-censorship also plays