European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) inspectors, who were checking in Hungary in 2018 the allocation of European funds to certain projects executed by the company of Prime Minister Viktor Orban's son-in-law, were closely monitored by security structures under the control of the Budapest government, according to an investigation published by the telex.hu website in collaboration with Transparency International. European Anti-Fraud Office.
According to the cited source, OLAF investigations focused on public lighting projects carried out by the company Elios Zrt., owned by Tiborcz Istvan (Viktor Orban's son-in-law), in which numerous irregularities and possible fraud were identified. As part of these investigations, OLAF inspectors became the target of extensive surveillance coordinated by the Hungarian intelligence agency, the Information Office (IH). Secret service sources told telex.hu that IH agents tapped the inspectors' phones, monitored their official and private meetings, and even made videos of their activities during their visits to Hungary. Furthermore, OLAF inspectors were physically followed during their stay in Hungary, and some of these actions were so obvious that the investigators became aware that they were being followed. In an act of defiance, they adopted an ostentatious behavior, clearly indicating that they had detected the surveillance.
OLAF began investigating projects carried out by the company Elios Zrt. in 2015, after several Hungarian publications reported on systemic fraud in the allocation of public lighting contracts. As part of the investigation, OLAF inspectors carried out several field visits to Hungary in 2015, 2016, and 2017 to gather evidence. These concerned the way contracts were awarded to Elios, in particular the direct influence that the prime minister's son-in-law, Tiborcz Istvan, allegedly had on the tender process. Although OLAF concluded that Elios' projects involved numerous breaches of European regulations, the Hungarian government refused to recover from Elios the 13 billion forints (31.5 million euros) considered fraud by the European institutions. Instead, the amount was returned to the European Union from the national budget, which was formed by Hungarian taxpayers.
Sources within the secret services also told Hungarian journalists that the surveillance of OLAF inspectors was not a routine action, but an order issued by circles close to Prime Minister Viktor Orban. The purpose of these operations was allegedly to protect sensitive information about the businesses of Tiborcz Istvan and other important figures in the prime minister's entourage. In particular, the aim was to identify any evidence that could directly link the government to the fraud committed through the company Elios Zrt. Furthermore, the former director of the IH, Pasztor Istvan, was allegedly involved in the surveillance of European delegations in general, and OLAF inspectors were the main target. The source cited specifies that, during Pasztor Istvan's tenure, the IH developed controversial practices of gathering information through unconventional methods, including the use of so-called "white papers" - unofficial reports that were not registered in official archives in order to avoid legal liability.
The actions of the Hungarian government and the secret services have strained relations between Budapest and Brussels. While OLAF has refused to comment on these surveillances, several European officials have confirmed that information about the monitoring of EU delegations has reached Brussels. An EU official noted that such practices are unusual between member states and call into question Hungary's commitment to European values. In addition, the suspicious behavior of Hungarian officials during official meetings, including insistent questions about the types of mobile phones used by European officials, fueled suspicions. These incidents revealed the Hungarian authorities' concerns about accessing confidential information, raising questions about compliance with international security norms.
Following the scandal, Viktor Orban accelerated the process of centralizing control over the intelligence services. The IH came under the direct leadership of the head of government in Budapest, through the newly created structure at the Prime Minister's Office - the State Secretariat for National Intelligence (NIAT). This reorganization was justified as a strategic necessity to improve the efficiency and coordination of the secret services, but critics see it as a move to consolidate the prime minister's personal power.