“Seller shall not undertake maintenance” – hospitals struggled with smoking, incompatible Chinese ventilators

Wirth Zsuzsanna 2021.12.21.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs signed unfavorable terms in a series of pricy contracts. What did hospitals do with Chinese ventilators?

Hungarian president’s closest bodyguards targeted with Pegasus spyware

Panyi Szabolcs 2021.12.13.

Targeting the president’s bodyguards may have been related to the internal struggle within the security agencies, which intensified after the Counter Terrorism Center wanted to find out the details of President János Áder’s schedules, a Direkt36 investigation has found. Even the smallest details of Áder’s activity could be monitored through the surveillance of his bodyguards with Pegasus.

IT entrepreneur with ties to Viktor Orbán’s family has further grown his business empire built on state tenders

Matyasovszki Fanni 2021.12.09.

Information technology businessman Gábor Szentgyörgyi has had close relations to Viktor Orbán’s family for a long time now. It started with a connection to Győző Orbán junior, the prime minister’s brother, through wrestling, then he showed up in the company of the prime minister and his father, Győző Orbán senior in a football stadium, and Read More

Orbán’s ally told Hungarian intelligence services that opposition is the greatest national security threat, leaked recording reveals

Pethő András 2021.11.27.

Direkt36 has obtained a recording of the speech that Speaker of the Parliament László Kövér gave in February 2020 to the leaders of Hungary’s national security leadership. He told them that he has great trust in them that they will deal with the danger the opposition means to Hungary.

A biztonsági szervek rászálltak a pilótára, aki a fideszes elit repülőútjait figyelte. Aztán feltűnt a Pegasus-célpontok között is

Panyi Szabolcs 2021.11.22.

A ma már pilótaként dolgozó egykori tévés műsorvezető, Pető György szerint azért kerülhetett ő a hatóságok látókörébe, mert információkkal segítette a befolyásos emberek magánrepülőzéséről beszámoló újságírókat.

A Gyurcsány-kormány két nemzetbiztonsági vezetőjét is célba vették a Pegasusszal

Panyi Szabolcs 2021.11.12.

Nem egyértelmű, miért került a célkeresztbe 2019-ben Laborc Sándor egykori NBH-vezető és korábbi kollégája, Glemba Zoltán. Az egykori titkosszolgálati vezetők azt mondják, hogy kormányzati körökben máig tartanak attól, hogy számukra káros információk vannak a birtokukban.

Former Fidesz politician signs lucrative property rental contract  with Russians building Paks 2

Szabó András 2021.11.11.

The license permit for the Paks 2 power plant expansion is still delayed but project implementer Rosatom continues to publish new related tenders. According to Direkt36 research former local Fidesz president in the town where the project is located is one of the beneficiaries.

Így foszlott szét a kormányzati ködösítés a Pegasus-ügyben

Panyi Szabolcs 2021.11.06.

Három és fél hónapon át próbálta az Orbán-kormány előbb letagadni, majd agyonhallgatni, hogy az államnak köze lenne a Pegasus-ügyhöz. Ez egészen addig működött is, amíg november 4-én délután Kósa Lajos az RTL Klubnak beismerte, hogy Magyarország megvásárolta és használja is az izraeli NSO Group Pegasus nevű kémszoftverét. Összefoglaljuk, hogy jutott a kormányzat a tagadástól a beismerésig.

Senior official in Socialist governments had an offshore company, Pandora Papers reveal

Pethő András, Zöldi Blanka 2021.11.04.

Jenő Faller told Direkt36 that when he founded the offshore company it was a “fashionable” thing to do.

Hungarian intel officer involved in spyware operations appears on Pegasus list

Panyi Szabolcs 2021.10.29.

The telephone number of an intelligence officer at the Special Service for National Security (SSNS), which conducts secret surveillance and interceptions, also appears in the list of Pegasus spyware targets, a Direkt36 investigation has found.

In Israel, Pegasus was developed to counter terrorism. In Hungary, a top counter-terrorism official became its target

Panyi Szabolcs 2021.10.22.

Former deputy head of Hungary’s Counter Terrorism Centre Zsolt Bodnár was selected for targeting with the Israeli spyware. Direkt36 found out that when this happened, Bodnár had a conflict with his boss, the Head of Counter Terrorism, who is also Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s former chief bodyguard.

Entrepreneur enriched by state tenders starts a new business on the Orbáns’ family land

Zöldi Blanka, Pethő András 2021.10.07.

Gábor Szentgyörgyi, a wrestling acquaintance of Viktor Orbán’s brother, has so far been a big winner in state tenders with his IT group, but now he is starting a plastic business on the Orbán-family’s estates.

Tax changes under Viktor Orbán turned Hungary into a tax planning tool

Pethő András, Zöldi Blanka 2021.10.05.

The offshore leaks known as the Pandora Papers show that Hungay has been promoted to service providers as the new Cyprus or Malta. A lawyer wrote that Hungary can give an “onfshore face” to offshore companies.

Prominent business allies of Viktor Orbán’s government had secret offshore businesses, Pandora Papers reveal

Pethő András, Zöldi Blanka 2021.10.04.

Nearly 12 million confidential documents were leaked about secret offshore companies, investigated by the world’s largest international collaboration of journalists. Direkt36 was also part of the project and revealed that influential Hungarian pro-government figures including Balázs Kertész and Gellért Jászai also had offshore interests.

Inside the conflicts surrounding the construction of Hungary’s new nuclear plant

Szabó András 2021.09.27.

The state authority overseeing the Paks expansion has serious concerns about the Russian construction company’s plans, which are to be approved within a few days. Direkt36’s investigation has found that political pressure on the Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority grows as the government is unhappy with the authority’s process.

Orbán’s government tried to hide sensitive information on €1.5B Chinese university project

Panyi Szabolcs 2021.09.24.

Although Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government published its plans for the taxpayer funded Fudan Hungary University, it censored all politically sensitive and explosive information from the documents.

He has been uncovering the lavish lifestyle of Viktor Orbán’s circles. This summer, he was surveilled with Pegasus spyware

Panyi Szabolcs, Pethő András 2021.09.21.

Photographer-journalist Dániel Németh has spent years investigating and documenting the luxury lifestyle of Hungary’s ruling elite, following them with his camera as they travelled around Europe. This time, however, someone was watching him too.

Resignations follow our exposé of lavish spending at a pro-government think tank

Wirth Zsuzsanna 2021.09.17.

As Direkt36 exposed controversial expenditures at a publicly funded think tank ran by the son of a former PM, several officials decided to leave.

Anti-Orbán news site’s publisher came under surveillance when his contract with an opposition party was revealed

Panyi Szabolcs, Pethő András 2021.09.13.

Páva’s smartphone was hacked with the cyberweapon developed by Israeli company NSO on March 16, the very day when it became public information that opposition party Democratic Coalition signed a contract with his company for social media consulting.

Hungarian opposition publisher was surveilled with Pegasus in spring 2021

Pethő András 2021.09.08.

Previous reporting showed that Pegasus was used against Hungarian targets in 2018 and 2019. Now there is evidence that Zoltán Páva, a former politician who is a news publisher now, was under surveillance in March and May this year.