More details of Lázár’s foreign trips have to be disclosed, court rules

Direkt36 won another lawsuit against the Prime Minister’s Office over the secretive foreign trips of its chief, János Lázár. The court has ruled that the government has to disclose details of Lázár’s meetings.

Continue reading

Mystery Entrepreneur: His Company Is Flush With State Money, Yet He Keeps Working as a Hotel Employee

The company received most of its contracts from Budapest 5th district, during the mayoral term of prominent government politician, Antal Rogán. Direkt36’s investigation also revealed that the firm has several links to a businessman who had close business relationship with the district in the past.

Continue reading

This would have been a dream project for Orbán’s son-in-law, but the government stepped in

The company of Viktor Orbán’s son-in-law won public procurements worth hundreds of millions of forints with similarly written announcements. Until now, these announcements had been passing the government’s control without any problem, but now here is the first sign that this success story might come to a halt.

Continue reading

Interior Minister’s Former Car Mechanic
Became Advisor of His Ministry

Béla Pittlik worked at a service station where Sándor Pintér, now the minister of interior, used to take his car. Now Pittlik works for the ministry, controlling projects for which he does not always have proper qualifications.

Continue reading

Prime Minister’s Office Loses Appeal Over Unusually High Hotel Bills

The court ruling forces the Prime Minister’s Office to disclose details of two trips of János Lázár, head of the office. This may shed light on why his trips resulted in hotel bills that were unusually high.

Continue reading

Company of Hungarian PM’s Son-in-law Keeps Winning Public Projects Without Competition. Here Is What Made That Possible

Direkt36’s investigation shows that the majority of public procurements won by Elios Innovatív included specific requirements that could have been met only by the company or – in some cases – just a very small circle of companies.

Continue reading

How Western Taxpayers Help Boost the Businesses of Hungary PM’s Inner Circle