{"id":13050,"date":"2026-04-28T11:44:46","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T09:44:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.direkt36.hu\/?p=13050"},"modified":"2026-04-28T15:46:20","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T13:46:20","slug":"a-fidesz-frakcio-munkatarsanak-lakasaban-lakik-a-magyarorszagra-menekult-korozott-lengyel-politikus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.direkt36.hu\/en\/a-fidesz-frakcio-munkatarsanak-lakasaban-lakik-a-magyarorszagra-menekult-korozott-lengyel-politikus\/","title":{"rendered":"A Polish politician wanted by the authorities fled to Hungary and is living in the apartment of a staff member of the Fidesz parliamentary group"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It was already known that the Hungarian government was helping Marcin Romanowski, a Polish politician accused of corruption, to flee from the Polish justice system.<\/p>\n<p>Direkt36 has now revealed that the ties between the government and Romanowski, who is facing an arrest warrant, are even closer than that. The former Polish deputy justice minister is currently living in the apartment of a staff member of the Fidesz parliamentary group.<\/p>\n<p>One of the owners of the apartment in Buda is D\u00e1vid Zsolt P\u00e1rkai, who, according to a document obtained by Direkt36, works as a \u201cpersonal secretary assisting with parliamentary activities\u201d in the Fidesz parliamentary group. According to the contract, parliamentary group leader M\u00e1t\u00e9 Kocsis hired P\u00e1rkai in September 2025 to work eight hours a day.<\/p>\n<p>Direkt36 journalists also visited Romanowski in person at the property, but, as can be seen in our video below, he did not answer our questions:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"A Fidesz-frakci\u00f3 munkat\u00e1rs\u00e1nak lak\u00e1s\u00e1ban lakik a k\u00f6r\u00f6z\u00f6tt lengyel politikus\" width=\"422\" height=\"750\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/VtwN0yU0Vhs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>P\u00e1rkai confirmed to Direkt36 that Romanowski lives in a property he co-owns. When asked about his ties to the Fidesz parliamentary group and M\u00e1t\u00e9 Kocsis, he said that he works in parliament not as a secretary but as a legal expert.<\/p>\n<p>The document in our possession states that P\u00e1rkai\u2019s employer is M\u00e1t\u00e9 Kocsis, and his name appears at the bottom of the contract, P\u00e1rkai told Direkt36 that the contract was not actually signed by Kocsis himself, but by Gy\u00f6rgy Balla, the deputy leader of the Fidesz parliamentary group. (We are not publishing the document to protect our sources, and the signature on it is difficult to read, so it is unclear who it belongs to.)<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMore than a thousand people work under Kocsis, so in this sense, he is everyone\u2019s employer in the faction,\u201d emphasized P\u00e1rkai, who did not provide a substantive answer as to how he got a job in the Fidesz faction. \u201cI know a lot of people, someone recommended me,\u201d he said, but he did not reveal who that person was.<\/p>\n<p>P\u00e1rkai claimed that M\u00e1t\u00e9 Kocsis had nothing to do with Romanowski ending up in his property. He emphasized that the Polish politician had already been staying in his apartment before he was appointed to his parliamentary position. This may indeed be the case, as documents obtained by Direkt36 show that P\u00e1rkai has been renting his property to Romanowski since December 2024.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.direkt36.hu\/tamogass-minket\/\">Join the Direkt36 supporters\u2019 group and get insight into investigative journalism! Details \u2192<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>P\u00e1rkai stated that Romanowski has been living in his apartment since he was granted asylum, meaning the politician is legally residing in the property.<\/p>\n<p>However, Romanowski\u2019s status may soon change. At his April 13 press conference, incoming Prime Minister P\u00e9ter Magyar <a href=\"https:\/\/telex.hu\/kulfold\/2026\/04\/20\/politikai-menedekjog-valasztas-utan-romanowski-ziobro-gruevszki-nemzetkozi-jog-kiadatas-korozes\">announced<\/a> that after the government is formed, the Tisza Party will review the situation of politicians who received political asylum from the Orb\u00e1n government but are facing convictions or court cases in their home countries\u2014including Romanowski\u2019s asylum status.<\/p>\n<p>In response to our question on this matter, P\u00e1rkai stated that if Romanowski\u2019s status were to change with the formation of the new government, the contract would be terminated as soon as his stay became illegal. According to him, Romanowski covers his own expenses, though he did not wish to elaborate on the details of the lease agreement. We also asked him how he came into contact with the Polish politician, to which he replied that Romanowski had approached him because he saw that his company was involved in property rentals.<\/p>\n<p>The other owner of the apartment rented by Romanowski \u2014 which was first reported by the Polish public broadcaster TVP\u2019s investigative program called Raport Specjalny and by \u00c1tl\u00e1tsz\u00f3 \u2014 is D\u00e1vid P\u00e1rkai\u2019s brother, D\u00e1niel P\u00e1rkai. \u00c1tl\u00e1tsz\u00f3 previously <a href=\"https:\/\/atlatszo.hu\/kozpenz\/2026\/04\/08\/kozpenzzel-kitomott-alapitvany-prominense-ad-szallast-a-budapestre-menekult-lengyel-politikusnak\/\">reported that<\/a> D\u00e1niel P\u00e1rkai is the founder and chairman of the board of trustees of a foundation in which \u00d6rs Farkas, the State Secretary for Civil Intelligence Services at the Prime Minister\u2019s Cabinet Office, also served as a director. The Oeconomus Economic Research Foundation, an organization that calls itself an analytical institute, has <a href=\"https:\/\/bla.hu\/tamogatott_szervezetek\/\">received annual funding<\/a> since its launch in 2019 from the Lajos Batthy\u00e1ny Foundation, which is also <a href=\"https:\/\/telex.hu\/belfold\/2025\/10\/08\/budapest-muhely-batthyany-lajos-alapitvany-2-5-tamogatas-milliard-korosi-koppany-szakertok\">supported by funds<\/a> from the Prime Minister\u2019s Cabinet Office.<\/p>\n<p>Located in the same building is one of D\u00e1vid P\u00e1rkai\u2019s companies, Patr-event Magyarorsz\u00e1g Kft., which, <a href=\"https:\/\/telex.hu\/after\/2026\/04\/24\/milliardokat-szort-ki-az-nka-titokban-a-fidesz-kampanyarcainak\">according to a report by Tele<\/a>x, received 450 million forints in funding from the National Cultural Fund of Hungary for organizing musical events. The P\u00e1rkai brothers\u2019 joint company\u2019s office is also located in the building. Among other things, the company is engaged in real estate brokerage and property management.<\/p>\n<p>The Fidesz faction\u2019s press office responded to our questions sent to M\u00e1t\u00e9 Kocsis, stating that the \u201cfaction leader has nothing to do\u201d with the Polish politician\u2019s \u201casylum application and the events related to it.\u201d They added that \u201cthe faction leader is the employer of all parliamentary staff, but he does not supervise their daily work, and in most cases he does not sign their contracts either, as is the case mentioned by us.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Law was changed to favor him<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Marcin Romanowski served as Deputy Minister of Justice in the Law and Justice (PiS) government, an ally of Fidesz. The party lost the 2023 election and thus went into opposition.<\/p>\n<p>Romanowski was subsequently charged by the Polish prosecutor\u2019s office with participation in an organized criminal group, and a total of 19 charges were brought against him. According to the prosecutor\u2019s office, Romanowski and other politicians illegally channeled 39 million euros from a judicial fund to organizations linked to the party and procured the Pegasus spyware.<\/p>\n<p>Romanowski was taken into custody by Polish authorities in July 2024, but was quickly released because he enjoyed immunity as a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). PACE did not decide to suspend his immunity until later, in October.<\/p>\n<p>Romanowski was granted asylum by the Hungarian government in December 2024. Former Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro was also involved in this case; he and his wife were also granted asylum by the Hungarian government at the end of 2025.<\/p>\n<p>Romanowski denies having committed any crime, claiming he is being targeted for political reasons. Gergely Guly\u00e1s, Minister of the Prime Minister\u2019s Office, said in 2024 that there is clear evidence that the principles of a fair trial had not been upheld in Romanowski\u2019s case, which is why he was granted asylum. According to the minister, Romanowski should not have been arrested, as he had parliamentary immunity thanks to his PACE membership.<\/p>\n<p>In February Polish authorities issued a European arrest warrant for Romanowski. At the same time, the Orb\u00e1n government has already attempted to pass legislation ensuring that Romanowski and other political exiles cannot be extradited to their home countries even after a change in government. The essence of the law passed in 2025 is that if a Hungarian court orders the execution of a European arrest warrant, the Supreme Court may overturn the decision at the initiative of the Prosecutor General.<\/p>\n<p>The case of the former deputy justice minister has heightened tensions between Budapest and Warsaw. The Orb\u00e1n government\u2019s pro-Russian policy had already soured its relations with the previous government, in which Romanowski served, but its relationship with the current government, led by the center-right Civic Platform, has become even more contentious.<\/p>\n<p>Polish Foreign Minister Rados\u0142aw Sikorski called the Orb\u00e1n government\u2019s decision to grant Romanowski asylum an \u201cunfriendly move,\u201d and following the decision, the Hungarian ambassador in Warsaw was summoned to the Polish Foreign Ministry.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.direkt36.hu\/tamogass-minket\/\">Join the Direkt36 supporters\u2019 group and get insight into investigative journalism! Details \u2192<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The Hungarian government did more than just grant Romanowski asylum. He was given a position at the pro-government Center for Fundamental Rights where he became the head of the Hungarian-Polish Institute of Freedom. According to its website, the institute researches the values that have defined Hungarian-Polish relations across eras and political systems.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFostering and protecting these values is particularly important in the shadow of today\u2019s threats, such as federalization that runs counter to state sovereignty and national identity, woke ideology, green jihad, or even illegal migration,\u201d the website explains about the institute.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Direkt36 reporters found Marcin Romanowski, who faces corruption charges in his home country, in an apartment in Buda. One of the property\u2019s owners was hired last fall by the Fidesz parliamentary group led by M\u00e1t\u00e9 Kocsis to serve as a secretary.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":13054,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"single-telex.php","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[420],"tags":[895,906,907,498],"ppma_author":[539,545],"aioseo_notices":[],"fimg_url":["https:\/\/www.direkt36.hu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/romanowski.jpg",2250,1500,false],"authors":[{"term_id":539,"user_id":0,"is_guest":1,"slug":"kamilla","display_name":"Kamilla Marton","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/www.direkt36.hu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Marton-Kamilla.png","url2x":"https:\/\/www.direkt36.hu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Marton-Kamilla.png"},"author_category":"1","user_url":"","last_name":"Marton","first_name":"Kamilla","job_title":"","description":"[:hu]Kamilla a Budapesti Metropolitan Egyetemen diplom\u00e1zott kommunik\u00e1ci\u00f3- \u00e9s m\u00e9diatudom\u00e1ny szakon, majd szakmai p\u00e1lyafut\u00e1s\u00e1t a Direkt36-n\u00e1l kezdte junior \u00fajs\u00e1g\u00edr\u00f3k\u00e9nt. Legink\u00e1bb az eg\u00e9szs\u00e9g\u00fcgyben t\u00f6rt\u00e9n\u0151 vissza\u00e9l\u00e9sek, a k\u00ednai-magyar kapcsolatok \u00e9s a korrupci\u00f3 foglalkoztatj\u00e1k. 2023-ban a k\u00f3rh\u00e1zi fert\u0151z\u00e9sek eltitkolt helyzet\u00e9t felt\u00e1r\u00f3 cikksorozat\u00e1\u00e9rt Wirth Zsuzsann\u00e1val k\u00f6z\u00f6sen elnyerte a Transparency-Soma d\u00edjat, cikksorozatuk pedig beker\u00fclt a European Press Prize d\u00edj legjobb \u00f6t jel\u00f6l\u00e9se k\u00f6z\u00e9.\r\n\r\nDokumentumfilmek k\u00e9sz\u00edt\u00e9s\u00e9ben is r\u00e9szt vesz. Szerkeszt\u0151k\u00e9nt \u00e9s riporterk\u00e9nt dolgozott A dinasztia c\u00edm\u0171 dokumentumfilmen, amely elnyerte a Press Play Prague Festival k\u00f6z\u00f6ns\u00e9gd\u00edj\u00e1t, megnyerte a st\u00e1bnak az \u00c9v Gazdas\u00e1gi \u00dajs\u00e1g\u00edr\u00f3ja d\u00edjat \u00e9s k\u00fcl\u00f6nd\u00edjat kapott a 45. Magyar Filmszeml\u00e9n. A film egy \u00e9v alatt t\u00f6bb mint 4 milli\u00f3 megtekint\u00e9st \u00e9rt el. Szerkeszt\u0151k\u00e9nt dolgozott A csapda c\u00edm\u0171 dokumentumfilmen is, amely egy h\u00e9t alatt t\u00f6bb mint egymilli\u00f3 megtekint\u00e9st \u00e9rt el.[:en]Kamilla graduated from the Budapest Metropolitan University in Communication and Media Science. She started her career at Direkt36 as a junior journalist. She is mainly interested in the cultural background of underground subcultures and social inequalities. In 2023, she won the Transparency-Soma award together with Zsuzsanna Wirth for her series of articles exposing the hidden situation of hospital-acquired infections. She loves extreme sports.[:]"},{"term_id":545,"user_id":29,"is_guest":0,"slug":"patrik","display_name":"Patrik Galavits","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/www.direkt36.hu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Galavits-Patrik.png","url2x":"https:\/\/www.direkt36.hu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Galavits-Patrik.png"},"author_category":"","user_url":"","last_name":"Galavits","first_name":"Patrik","job_title":"","description":"[:hu]Az NKE-n szerzett igazgat\u00e1sszervez\u0151 \u00e9s nemzetk\u00f6zi igazgat\u00e1si diplom\u00e1val el\u0151bb multikn\u00e1l dolgozott, innen v\u00e1ltott az \u00fajs\u00e1g\u00edr\u00e1sra. Volt riporter \u00e9s m\u0171sorvezet\u0151 a Klubr\u00e1di\u00f3n\u00e1l, podcastot k\u00e9sz\u00edtett \u00e9s cikkeket \u00edrt az Azonnali.hu-n\u00e1l, majd a Forbes Magyarorsz\u00e1g munkat\u00e1rsak\u00e9nt dolgozott. 2019-ben \u00f6szt\u00f6nd\u00edjjal k\u00e9t h\u00f3napot a nyugat-n\u00e9metorsz\u00e1gi k\u00f6zszolg\u00e1lati m\u00e9di\u00e1n\u00e1l, a WDR-n\u00e9l t\u00f6lt\u00f6tt, 2022-ben az Egyes\u00fclt \u00c1llamok k\u00fcl\u00fcgyminiszt\u00e9riuma \u00e1ltal szervezett program, az IVLP r\u00e9sztvev\u0151je volt. T\u00f6bbsz\u00f6r jel\u00f6lt\u00e9k Min\u0151s\u00e9gi \u00dajs\u00e1g\u00edr\u00e1s\u00e9rt-d\u00edjra, 2021-ben az egykori balettint\u00e9zeti vissza\u00e9l\u00e9seket \u00e9s zaklat\u00e1sokat felt\u00e1r\u00f3 cikksorozat\u00e1\u00e9rt Transparency-Soma-d\u00edjra.[:en]Patrik graduated in Public and International Administration from the National University of Public Service. He started out as a private sector employee at multinational corporations before he ventured into journalism. He became a reporter and radio show host at Klubr\u00e1di\u00f3, then he produced a podcast and wrote articles at Azonnali.hu. Most recently he worked at Forbes Hungary. In 2019, he won a grant at WDR, a public broadcaster based in Germany. In 2022, he took part in an International Visitor Leadership Program for journalists, organized by the United States Department of State. He has been nominated for the Quality Journalism Award multiple times. His investigative article series involving abuses and sexual harassment at the Hungarian Dance Academy earned him a nomination for the Transparency Soma Award in 2021.[:]"}],"tag_names":[{"name":"kocsis m\u00e1t\u00e9","slug":"kocsis-mate"},{"name":"Marcin Romanowski","slug":"marcin-romanowski"},{"name":"P\u00e1rkai D\u00e1vid","slug":"parkai-david"},{"name":"PiS","slug":"pis"}],"category_names":[{"name":"Caring state","slug":"gondoskodo-allam"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.direkt36.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13050"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.direkt36.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.direkt36.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.direkt36.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.direkt36.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13050"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.direkt36.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13050\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13063,"href":"https:\/\/www.direkt36.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13050\/revisions\/13063"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.direkt36.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13054"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.direkt36.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13050"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.direkt36.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13050"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.direkt36.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13050"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.direkt36.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=13050"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}