We also contacted Gy\u00f6rgy Matolcsy, but the MNB’s communications department only replied that the “central bank president does not deal with the business affairs of his adult son”.<\/p>\n
The center of the Matolcsy circle<\/strong><\/h2>\nPalm Jumeirah is visible from space.\u00a0 The artificially created palm tree-shaped island is an iconic symbol of Dubai, known over the world. But the owners of the luxurious properties built on the palm tree’s branches are not welcoming of uninvited guests to the area. As a source familiar with the city, who asked not to be named, told Direkt36, the entrances to the palm branches are monitored by cameras and barred from unauthorized visitors by barriers and uniformed guards.<\/p>\n
“If you don’t live here, you must have an appointment to get in,”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
– the source explained, adding that the resident must provide proof to security that you have arrived to see him or her.<\/p>\n
In this closed world, protected from prying eyes, \u00c1d\u00e1m Matolcsy, the son of the governor of the Hungarian National Bank, rented a luxurious villa in the summer of 2023. According to an official document in Direkt36’s possession, the central bank president’s son rented the property for a year, until June 2024. Another document we obtained details other costs associated with the villa, such as cleaning, garbage collection and IT services. According to the document, these cost a total of HUF 1.5 million (EUR 4000) in 2023.<\/p>\n
![\"We](\"https:\/\/assets.telex.hu\/images\/20241002\/1727881167-temp-DFNAik_cikktorzs:xl.png\")
We identified the villa in a photo uploaded to Google Maps<\/p><\/div>\n
The documents also provide information about the rented property itself, such as the fact that it has 5 bedrooms and a total floor area of 1,242 square meters.\u00a0 The two-story residence chosen by Matolcsy is one of the island’s “Signature Villa” properties. These types of villas have at least 5 bedrooms and 8 bathrooms. They come with a swimming pool and 4 car parking spaces, as well as separate rooms for driver and maid.\u00a0 In addition, residents of the Palm Jumeirah have access to a private beach area.<\/p>\n
Familiar landlord<\/strong><\/h2>\nAccording to the document proving the tenancy, \u00c1d\u00e1m Matolcsy could take possession of the luxurious property from June 21, 2023. The villa had been acquired by Future Holding just five days earlier for a price of 38.5 million dirhams, more than HUF 3.5 billion (EUR 9.4 million), according to Bayut.com transaction data.<\/p>\n
As Direkt36 previously reported in an investigative project based on a database obtained by the Center for Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS) and led by the OCCRP investigative network and the Norwegian newspaper E24, Future Holding Limited had multiple links to \u00c1d\u00e1m Matolcsy and his circle.<\/p>\n
Contact details of people closely linked to the son of the central bank’s president were listed as contacts for the company. One of the email addresses listed at the company, for example, was linked to the former wife of Matolcsy, and to a company previously owned by \u00c1d\u00e1m Matolcsy.<\/p>\n
The other email address linked to Future Holding belongs to Eszter R., an old acquaintance of \u00c1d\u00e1m Matolcsy, who has close personal and business ties to the son of the MNB President. R. was a bridesmaid at his wedding, but they also has a business relationship with him as she used to work for one of \u00c1d\u00e1m Matolcsy’s companies.<\/p>\n
Eszter R. first made the news as a member of the Matolcsy circle when 444 linked her name to a US-registered company, MN A18 LLC. The article revealed that the company had bought a luxurious 350 sqm, 3-bedroom apartment on the 18th floor of the Crown Building in one of Manhattan’s most expensive neighborhoods.<\/p>\n
Real estate empire in progress<\/strong><\/h2>\nFuture Holding has acquired several other properties in Dubai in addition to the two-story villa.<\/p>\n
In the autumn of 2018, it bought a luxury apartment on the ninth floor of the One at Palm Jumeirah building for around HUF 1.1 billion (EUR 2.8 million), according to the exchange rates at that time. The luxurious residence was featured in detail in our previous article. As we revealed then, the 286 square meter, 3-bedroom luxury apartment overlooks the sea and not only has floor-to-ceiling windows and a walk-in closet, but also a total of 50 square meters of balcony space.<\/p>\n
Direkt36, through a public Pinterest account with the name of \u00c1d\u00e1m Matolcsy, found several photos that were most likely taken in this luxury mansion, showing a man who looks like Matolcsy.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/assets.telex.hu\/images\/20241002\/1727880987-temp-OLmMhF_cikktorzs:xl.jpg\")
A man who looks like Adam Matolcsy in the Dubai apartment – Source: Pinterest<\/p><\/div>\n
We also found three additional properties purchased by Future Holding in Dubai. However, for two of the three transactions, there is no contact information next to the company name. Thus, these purchases cannot be clearly linked to the Matolcsy circle.<\/p>\n
Money from the bank<\/strong><\/h2>\nAs we have written in details in previous articles, state sources have played a major role in the business success of \u00c1d\u00e1m Matolcsy.<\/p>\n
In 2015, Matolcsy acquired the long-established Balaton B\u00fator furniture factory in Veszpr\u00e9m through a loan from NHB, a company linked to Tam\u00e1s Szemerey, Gy\u00f6rgy Matolcsy’s cousin. The original source of the purchase price was the Hungarian National Bank and its Growth Loan Program. Later, in the spring of 2021, N\u00e9pszava reported that Balaton B\u00fator delivered cargo to the Posta Palota, owned by the central bank. \u00c1d\u00e1m Matolcsy did not deny the delivery to the site and told Direkt36 that his company fulfilled 5 percent of the furniture order for the subcontractor of the project, wining the business in due to their competitive market price.<\/p>\n
In 2018, Balaton B\u00fator also won a contract worth more than HUF 220 million in the tender of the Testnevel\u00e9si Egyetem, and in 2020 it was selected as one of the companies that could provide furniture for state institutions for a total of HUF 20 billion over 3 years from December 2020. Balaton B\u00fator has also received at least HUF 600 million in non-reimbursable EU funding since 2015. Before Matolcsy’s arrival, the company’s annual revenues were around HUF 700-800 million. Between 2018 and 2020, this figure was around HUF 1.7 billion, and in 2021 and 2022 it rose significantly to around HUF 3.5 billion. This is mainly due to contracts with businesses and institutions tied to the government.<\/p>\n
“If you don’t live here, you must have an appointment to get in,”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
– the source explained, adding that the resident must provide proof to security that you have arrived to see him or her.<\/p>\n
In this closed world, protected from prying eyes, \u00c1d\u00e1m Matolcsy, the son of the governor of the Hungarian National Bank, rented a luxurious villa in the summer of 2023. According to an official document in Direkt36’s possession, the central bank president’s son rented the property for a year, until June 2024. Another document we obtained details other costs associated with the villa, such as cleaning, garbage collection and IT services. According to the document, these cost a total of HUF 1.5 million (EUR 4000) in 2023.<\/p>\n
We identified the villa in a photo uploaded to Google Maps<\/p><\/div>\n
The documents also provide information about the rented property itself, such as the fact that it has 5 bedrooms and a total floor area of 1,242 square meters.\u00a0 The two-story residence chosen by Matolcsy is one of the island’s “Signature Villa” properties. These types of villas have at least 5 bedrooms and 8 bathrooms. They come with a swimming pool and 4 car parking spaces, as well as separate rooms for driver and maid.\u00a0 In addition, residents of the Palm Jumeirah have access to a private beach area.<\/p>\n
Familiar landlord<\/strong><\/h2>\nAccording to the document proving the tenancy, \u00c1d\u00e1m Matolcsy could take possession of the luxurious property from June 21, 2023. The villa had been acquired by Future Holding just five days earlier for a price of 38.5 million dirhams, more than HUF 3.5 billion (EUR 9.4 million), according to Bayut.com transaction data.<\/p>\n
As Direkt36 previously reported in an investigative project based on a database obtained by the Center for Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS) and led by the OCCRP investigative network and the Norwegian newspaper E24, Future Holding Limited had multiple links to \u00c1d\u00e1m Matolcsy and his circle.<\/p>\n
Contact details of people closely linked to the son of the central bank’s president were listed as contacts for the company. One of the email addresses listed at the company, for example, was linked to the former wife of Matolcsy, and to a company previously owned by \u00c1d\u00e1m Matolcsy.<\/p>\n
The other email address linked to Future Holding belongs to Eszter R., an old acquaintance of \u00c1d\u00e1m Matolcsy, who has close personal and business ties to the son of the MNB President. R. was a bridesmaid at his wedding, but they also has a business relationship with him as she used to work for one of \u00c1d\u00e1m Matolcsy’s companies.<\/p>\n
Eszter R. first made the news as a member of the Matolcsy circle when 444 linked her name to a US-registered company, MN A18 LLC. The article revealed that the company had bought a luxurious 350 sqm, 3-bedroom apartment on the 18th floor of the Crown Building in one of Manhattan’s most expensive neighborhoods.<\/p>\n
Real estate empire in progress<\/strong><\/h2>\nFuture Holding has acquired several other properties in Dubai in addition to the two-story villa.<\/p>\n
In the autumn of 2018, it bought a luxury apartment on the ninth floor of the One at Palm Jumeirah building for around HUF 1.1 billion (EUR 2.8 million), according to the exchange rates at that time. The luxurious residence was featured in detail in our previous article. As we revealed then, the 286 square meter, 3-bedroom luxury apartment overlooks the sea and not only has floor-to-ceiling windows and a walk-in closet, but also a total of 50 square meters of balcony space.<\/p>\n
Direkt36, through a public Pinterest account with the name of \u00c1d\u00e1m Matolcsy, found several photos that were most likely taken in this luxury mansion, showing a man who looks like Matolcsy.<\/p>\n
A man who looks like Adam Matolcsy in the Dubai apartment – Source: Pinterest<\/p><\/div>\n
We also found three additional properties purchased by Future Holding in Dubai. However, for two of the three transactions, there is no contact information next to the company name. Thus, these purchases cannot be clearly linked to the Matolcsy circle.<\/p>\n
Money from the bank<\/strong><\/h2>\nAs we have written in details in previous articles, state sources have played a major role in the business success of \u00c1d\u00e1m Matolcsy.<\/p>\n
In 2015, Matolcsy acquired the long-established Balaton B\u00fator furniture factory in Veszpr\u00e9m through a loan from NHB, a company linked to Tam\u00e1s Szemerey, Gy\u00f6rgy Matolcsy’s cousin. The original source of the purchase price was the Hungarian National Bank and its Growth Loan Program. Later, in the spring of 2021, N\u00e9pszava reported that Balaton B\u00fator delivered cargo to the Posta Palota, owned by the central bank. \u00c1d\u00e1m Matolcsy did not deny the delivery to the site and told Direkt36 that his company fulfilled 5 percent of the furniture order for the subcontractor of the project, wining the business in due to their competitive market price.<\/p>\n
In 2018, Balaton B\u00fator also won a contract worth more than HUF 220 million in the tender of the Testnevel\u00e9si Egyetem, and in 2020 it was selected as one of the companies that could provide furniture for state institutions for a total of HUF 20 billion over 3 years from December 2020. Balaton B\u00fator has also received at least HUF 600 million in non-reimbursable EU funding since 2015. Before Matolcsy’s arrival, the company’s annual revenues were around HUF 700-800 million. Between 2018 and 2020, this figure was around HUF 1.7 billion, and in 2021 and 2022 it rose significantly to around HUF 3.5 billion. This is mainly due to contracts with businesses and institutions tied to the government.<\/p>\n
Future Holding has acquired several other properties in Dubai in addition to the two-story villa.<\/p>\n
In the autumn of 2018, it bought a luxury apartment on the ninth floor of the One at Palm Jumeirah building for around HUF 1.1 billion (EUR 2.8 million), according to the exchange rates at that time. The luxurious residence was featured in detail in our previous article. As we revealed then, the 286 square meter, 3-bedroom luxury apartment overlooks the sea and not only has floor-to-ceiling windows and a walk-in closet, but also a total of 50 square meters of balcony space.<\/p>\n
Direkt36, through a public Pinterest account with the name of \u00c1d\u00e1m Matolcsy, found several photos that were most likely taken in this luxury mansion, showing a man who looks like Matolcsy.<\/p>\n
A man who looks like Adam Matolcsy in the Dubai apartment – Source: Pinterest<\/p><\/div>\n
We also found three additional properties purchased by Future Holding in Dubai. However, for two of the three transactions, there is no contact information next to the company name. Thus, these purchases cannot be clearly linked to the Matolcsy circle.<\/p>\n