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It's often overlooked that linking EU funds to rule of law is a very personal threat to Viktor Orbán and his family too.
In recent years, my colleagues at @direkt36 have uncovered in details how EU funds enriched the Orbáns: the father, the brother and the son-in-law. THREAD.
In recent years, my colleagues at @direkt36 have uncovered in details how EU funds enriched the Orbáns: the father, the brother and the son-in-law. THREAD.
2/ Győző Orbán Sr., the PM’s father made tens of millions of euros through Hungarian public works projects funded by EU money.
Orbán's companies were always sub-contractors or suppliers, hence they could avoid appearing in public databases for years. https://www.direkt36.hu/en/rejtett-allami-munkakbol-is-jott-penz-az-orban-csalad-gyorsan-szerzett-milliardjaihoz/
Orbán's companies were always sub-contractors or suppliers, hence they could avoid appearing in public databases for years. https://www.direkt36.hu/en/rejtett-allami-munkakbol-is-jott-penz-az-orban-csalad-gyorsan-szerzett-milliardjaihoz/
3/ After a 3-year-long public information lawsuit, @direkt36 received additional documents related to the businesses of Orbán’s father. It turned out that he benefited from a road construction which was criticized by the EU due to its extremely high costs. https://www.direkt36.hu/en/meg-a-kormany-is-draganak-talalta-az-m4-es-epiteset-dokumentumok-bizonyitjak-hogy-orban-apjanak-cegetol-vettek-hozza-a-koveket/
4/ Besides building roads, Orbán Sr. participated in several sewage construction projects too. This time, the scheme was even more interesting: the project bidder (and winner) was Orbán’s childhood friend, Lőrinc Mészáros, who then subcontracted Orbán Sr. https://www.direkt36.hu/en/igy-folyik-tovabb-a-kozpenz-meszaros-lorinctol-az-orban-csaladhoz/
5/ Thanks to these EU funded Hungarian state projects, Viktor Orbán’s father became so successful that, in 2018, his mining company’s profit margin (41,3%) was more than double of the market average. https://www.direkt36.hu/en/igy-lett-nyeresegesebb-az-orban-banya-mint-barmelyik-komoly-versenytarsa/
6/ Let’s move on to Győző Orbán Jr., the Prime Minister’s brother, whose technology firm received EU subsidies multiple times throughout the years. In 2016, for example, Győző Orbán Jr. won two grants worth more than a million euros. https://www.direkt36.hu/en/orban-egyre-kemenyebben-tamadja-az-eu-t-a-testvere-cege-kozben-most-kapott-toluk-kozel-300-milliot/
7/ Győző Orbán won another EU subsidy (416K euros) in 2018 - with a little help from the family, of course: "The funding for the subsidies comes from the EU’s budget but the grant system is (...) under the control of the Prime Minister’s Office." https://www.direkt36.hu/en/megint-nagyerteku-eu-tamogatast-kapott-orban-testverenek-cege/
8/ Finally, there’s the story of Orbán’s son-in-law, István Tiborcz (married to Ráhel Orbán), who got rich through EU-funded public lighting projects. His company kept winning contracts without competition as the procurements were rigged from the start. https://www.direkt36.hu/en/tiborcz-istvan-es-az-elios-innovativ-zrt-sikerei-ledes-kozvilagitasi-kozbeszerzeseken/
9/ Orbán’s office jumped in directly to help the son-in-law’s business. “The Prime Minister’s Office played a significant role in enabling Tiborcz’s former company to win a series of public procurements and other state contracts without real competition." https://www.direkt36.hu/en/igy-segitette-a-miniszterelnokseg-orban-vejenek-kozbeszerzesi-sikereit/
10/ The business dealings of Orbán’s son-in-law were so shady that OLAF, the EU’s anti-fraud office came to Hungary to investigate them. They basically corroborated what @direkt36 had already uncovered. https://www.direkt36.hu/en/hat-dolog-amit-a-direkt36-tart-fel-tiborcz-cegerol-es-ami-az-eu-csalas-elleni-hivatalanak-is-gyanus-lett/
11/ And here comes the part which explains why the enforcement of the rule of law regarding how EU funds are spent is crucial: despite strong evidence of fraud by OLAF, guess what happened to the Hungarian police investigation against Orbán’s son-in-law... https://www.euractiv.com/section/justice-home-affairs/news/hungarian-police-drops-orban-linked-corruption-probe/
12/ Finally, here’s a complete list of our articles on the enrichment of Viktor Orbán’s family: https://www.direkt36.hu/en/category/az-orban-csalad-uzletei/
If you find our investigative work important, you can become a supporting member of @direkt36 and/or spread the word: https://www.direkt36.hu/en/tamogass-minket/
Thank you.
If you find our investigative work important, you can become a supporting member of @direkt36 and/or spread the word: https://www.direkt36.hu/en/tamogass-minket/
Thank you.
13/ When @direkt36 was launched in 2015, the very 1st story was titled:
“How Western Taxpayers Help Boost the Businesses of Hungary PM’s Inner Circle”
Orbán’s childhood friend, Lőrinc Mészáros since became Hungary’s richest man - with EU money of course
https://twitter.com/direkt36/status/1328620410632540162?s=21
“How Western Taxpayers Help Boost the Businesses of Hungary PM’s Inner Circle”
Orbán’s childhood friend, Lőrinc Mészáros since became Hungary’s richest man - with EU money of course
https://twitter.com/direkt36/status/1328620410632540162?s=21
