After winning public lighting tenders in Hungary, Elios, a company previously owned by the son-in-law of Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán, started expanding internationally. In Serbia, companies linked to Elios have been participating in 12 public lighting tenders, with some partners that are connected to Serbia’s political elite.
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Putin-controlled financial giant has close ties to IIB, the Russian-led bank moving to Hungary
The International Investment Bank, which is about to move its headquarters to Hungary, has been in close contact with VTB, Russia’s second largest bank.
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How Orbán’s chief of staff and people close to him have used luxury cars in secret
Long-term car rental is a very expensive solution but it has the advantage of keeping the client using the car in secret. Antal Rogán and his wife, as well as the former deputy mayor of a Budapest district and former wife of Árpád Habony all used this option for several years. The car renting company has won several high-value state contracts in the past years.
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How public money keeps flowing to Orban’s family through Hungary’s new tycoon
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban keeps repeating that he doesn’t deal with business issues. The companies of his family members, however, are benefitting from EU-funded constructions that are carried out by the business empire of Lorinc Meszaros, a friend of the PM. We explain their business relationship in a short video.
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Trump and Orban to cut billion-dollar arms deals at the possible expense of Hungarian NGOs
U.S. Ambassador David Cornstein boasted about billion-dollar arms deals with Lockheed Martin and Raytheon. However, Hungary wants to use an air defense system deal as leverage to gain government control over funding of independent NGOs.
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Hungarian companies also involved in “Grand Theft Europe”, the EU’s biggest tax fraud
The shockingly high amount of 50 billion euros is robbed every year from European taxpayers through so-called VAT carousel fraud. An international investigation reveals that Hungarian companies have also been involved in criminal networks.
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Hungary to buy more U.S. weapons as PM Orban gets a White House invitation
Orban is not coming empty-handed to the Oval Office: Hungary’s government is negotiating high-value arms deals with the United States.
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Russian-led bank rapidly gearing up in Budapest amid EU and U.S. worries
Nothing can stop the relocation of International Investment Bank, a former Soviet bank that was revived by Russian president Vladimir Putin a few years ago, to Budapest. Meanwhile, Hungary appoints a new director who has been accused of working for the Communist secret service.
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How people close to Viktor Orbán’s brother became key players in major procurements of Hungary’s tax authority
An acquaintance of Orbán Győző Jr. became the head of the department in charge of major procurements at the National Tax and Customs Authority (NAV), while his other acquaintance has won high-value public tenders from the same authority. The three men know each other through wrestling.
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How we exposed a secret conflict involving Russia, the United States, and Hungary
How we did our investigation into a story about two Russian arms dealers who were arrested in Hungary as the result of a US-led sting operation, and about how the Hungarian government extradited the two Russians to Moscow, infuriating the Americans.
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Magyarországnak ígért milliárdos fejlesztést is érint Trump mexikói határfala
Kell a pénz Trump határfalára, elúszhat a kecskeméti reptér fejlesztése.
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The government closed the foreign trading houses but made an exception with PM Orban’s Turkish friend
Adnan Polat knows the Prime Minister as well as his family members well. The government canceled dozens of contracts last year but his contract remained in effect.
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How I found out that an opposition politician teamed up with the government’s allies
After Viktor Orban’s party won the latest election by another landslide, we looked into the allegations of some opposition politicians secretly working with the allies of the government.
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How we told the inside story of the oligarch who turned against Viktor Orbán
Lajos Simicska and Viktor Orbán were friends and allies for decades. Together they turned Fidesz, now the governing party, into Hungary’s dominant political force.
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Russian arms dealer busted by U.S. agents in Hungary now out of jail after extradition
Vladimir Lyubishin Jr. has been released from prison in February. The U.S. fears that the Russian arms dealers will avoid justice after being extradited to Russia.
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How we exposed some of the deepest secrets of Hungary’s controversial golden visa program
Through a residency bond scheme run by the Hungarian government, several foreigners were granted residency in spite of potentially posing serious security risks for Hungary and the European Union. Blanka Zöldi recalls how we found out about these people.
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Orbán enged az USA-nak, de ő is kiharcolt valamit a katonai megállapodás tervezete szerint
Szabadon mozoghatnak majd a Magyarországon tartózkodó amerikai katonák, és ha törvénysértést követnek el, akkor a legtöbb esetben az amerikai jog vonatkozik majd rájuk. Ez derül ki a magyar-amerikai védelmi megállapodás szövegtervezetéből, amelyet a Direkt36 szerzett meg.
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Paks 2 is facing a risky modification that could favor the Russians
The preliminary ground works could start already before the approval of the overall project plans. This contains serious risks but it would benefit the Russians who have been urging the start of the investment for a long time.
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Logikus volt, hogy Orbán Moszkva felé fordult – Direkt36 podcast 2
Miért ültették alacsony székre az amerikaiak Szijjártó Pétert? Mennyire tehet arról az amerikai kormány, hogy Magyarország távolodni kezdett Washingtontól? És mennyire sikeres az egyszerre harsány és konfliktusos magyar külpolitika. Az amerikai-magyar-orosz viszony a Direkt36 podcastjában.
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Hungary Buying U.S. Missile System to Mend Ties with Trump Administration
Hungary and the U.S. are preparing to conclude several significant military-economic deals, according to Direkt36’s sources. However, the acquisition of a U.S. missile system could complicate Russian-Hungarian relations.
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