Cecília Szilas is not the first high-ranking Hungarian official who was targeted with the Pegasus spyware. Her phone was added to the list during her stint at a conflict-ridden company called Dunaferr, shortly before becoming the Prime Minister’s senior advisor on China.
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Former Hungarian ambassador to China was targeted with Pegasus – shortly before becoming senior advisor to Orbán
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 inside knowledge about the election strategy of Fidesz described the ruling party’s campaign strategy for the 2022 parliamentary elections and its conscious use of social media.
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“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 a crucial role in shaping the content of MTI.
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Leaked documents show how Orbán’s circle dictates the news at Hungary’s state news agency
According to internal letters obtained by Direkt36, one of Viktor Orbán’s closest colleagues once dictated a piece of news to the Hungarian Telegraph Office. There is also a separate instruction that not only the ministry’s announcements must be published practically verbatim, but also the statements of Lőrinc Mészáros’s group of companies.
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Entrepreneur enriched by state tenders starts a new business on the Orbáns’ family land
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.
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Prominent business allies of Viktor Orbán’s government had secret offshore businesses, Pandora Papers reveal
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.
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He has been uncovering the lavish lifestyle of Viktor Orbán’s circles. This summer, he was surveilled with Pegasus spyware
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.
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PM Orbán tried to prevent hospital dramas with vaccination. In the end, he could only hide them
Despite flaws in February, how did the Hungarian government manage to present its epidemiological measures as a success in the eyes of the public? Here is the background story of Hungary’s third COVID-19 wave.
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Inside the secrets of the Orbán family’s businesses
Viktor Orbán claims that he does not have any savings, but his family members have earned millions of euros in recent years, partly from public money from the Hungarian state and the European Union. We explain how we investigated the businesses of Orbán’s family in an animated video.
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The mine of the Orbán family pays the highest dividend among its competitors
According to the latest data available, Dolomit Kft. paid 1,8 billion forints (4,98 million euros) as dividends in 2019, which is more than the thirteen times more than the sectorial average.
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Until now, Orbán’s family has stayed away from public procurements. Now the company of his brother won a lucrative one
Gamma Analcont, a company minority owned by one of Viktor Orban’s younger brothers, won a high-value public procurement for the remote monitoring of gas-networks of E.ON.
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A fugitive wanted for murder became a businessman in Budapest under false identity
Haris Ahmed has escaped from Bangladesh, where his brother currently serves as Army Chief. The man had been on the Interpol’s Red Notice list for years, now he is using his connections at home to enrich himself in Europe.
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Inside Viktor Orbán’s slow response to the second wave of COVID19
Fidesz politicians believed in the forecast of Central Bank president György Matolcsy that the pandemic would only have a mild impact on the Hungarian economy, but GDP data showed a different reality.
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Orbán’s father offers building materials for a much higher price than the competition
Dolomit Kft. participates in state projects despite selling some of its products 60-70 percent more expensive than its main competitors.
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“Don’t even try, sweetie, because I’m running out of patience” – We asked Viktor Orbán’s father about his involvement in state projects
The mining company of Hungarian PM’s father, Győző Orbán delivered building materials for major railway and road constructions, but he only wanted to talk about the beautiful autumn weather.
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Orban’s father was involved in controversial road construction
Not only the European Union, but also the Hungarian government criticized the project for being too expensive. This did not stop the mining company of the PM’s father to benefit from it.
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How Orban played Germany, Europe’s great power
Why isn’t Germany tougher with the Hungarian government? Viktor Orbán has been building his alliances for decades through personal friendships, political gimmicks and pouring hundreds of billions of forints on German corporations. Direkt36 explored in detail the hidden history of Hungarian-German relations.
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How the epidemic disrupted Orbán’s machinery
While in the past ten years the government seemed to operate with almost military-style discipline, the last few weeks brought several U-turns from the Orbán administration. Here’s what happened behind the scenes.
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China suspended the export of some COVID-19 tests in April. The Hungarian government had already stocked up on them
Hungarian paramedics are still using tests whose exports were suspended in April. This week, China again loosened export requirements, and it seems that the Hungarian government also managed to find a reliable supplier.
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Hungarian ministerial adviser searched for coronavirus masks. He found them at a company where his father is a senior manager
Tons of medical masks and other personal protective equipment are arriving to Hungary almost every day. One of the big winners of the state orders is a little-known Chinese-Hungarian company with family ties to the ministry that handled the procurements.
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