Hungarian PM’s may have secretly moved cash and valuables from Russia
Photo: Viktor Orbán and Vladimir Putin (Getty Images)
The government and private aircraft belonging to Hungarian officials may have transported large amounts of cash and valuables out of Russia, said Hungarian investigative journalist Szabolcs Panyi, whom the country’s government has accused of espionage.
What is known about the transport of cargo from Russia
According to Panyi, such information first began to emerge back in 2016–2017 within the national security services of EU and NATO countries. The journalist claims he has received confirmation that government and private planes from Hungary were returning from Russia loaded with cash and valuables. His sources include officials from at least six different countries.
Panyi clarified that this information was obtained not through wiretapping of Hungarian officials, but from intercepted conversations of Russian officials discussing preparations for such cargo.
Panyi expressed confidence that the espionage case launched against him on March 26 by Hungary’s Ministry of Justice is directly linked to this investigation into government aircraft.
The journalist also suggested that the Hungarian government may go further and bring additional fabricated charges against him—for example, accusations related to preparing a terrorist act.
Campaign against the journalist
On Monday, the pro-government outlet Mandiner, known for information attacks against Ukraine and opponents of the Hungarian Prime Minister, published an audio recording of a conversation between Panyi and an unnamed woman.
In the recording, the journalist says he knows about the wiretapping of Hungary’s foreign minister Péter Szijjártó by a foreign intelligence service.
On his social media, he confirmed that he had been investigating the relationship between Hungary’s foreign minister Péter Szijjártó and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.
According to him, European intelligence services recorded their communication, which raises serious suspicion of political intelligence activity and agent-like behavior in favor of Russia. The journalist was trying to determine whether there were secret communication channels between Szijjártó and Lavrov hidden from Hungary’s Foreign Ministry.
On this basis, state propaganda labeled Panyi a spy and launched a campaign of harassment against him.
Ahead of the elections in Hungary, US Vice President JD Vance is expected to visit Budapest to support Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, according to Politico. The visit comes amid a tense political situation, as polls show the opposition widening its lead over Orbán ahead of the vote.
At the same time, relations between Budapest and Brussels have deteriorated. The EU has frozen billions of euros for Hungary due to its continued blocking of aid to Ukraine—Orbán’s blackmail has backfired, media reports say. In addition, the Hungarian Prime Minister has threatened to cut off gas supplies to Ukraine, issuing yet another ultimatum.
