Gergely Miklós Nagy, journalist 24.hu and his mentee, Vilmos Molnár took first place in Transparency International (TI) Hungary’s 13th mentor-mentee program of investigative journalism. In their two-part series, the authors investigated suspicious real estate sales in the 12th district of Budapest that took place during the mayoralty of pro-government politician Zoltán Pokorni. As they revealed, the sale of numerous valuable properties may have caused the capital’s district to suffer losses of up to HUF 2 billion. After the ambassadors’ welcome speeches, participants and their articles written during this year’s program were presented at the closing ceremony on Wednesday, November 19, as the awards were also given away to the mentor journalists and their mentees.  

Once again, the Finnish Embassy in Budapest hosted the closing and awards ceremony for TI Hungary’s 13th mentor-mentee program for investigative journalism in 2025. In addition to József Péter Martin, Executive Director of TI Hungary, the attendees were welcomed by representatives of the embassies supporting this year’s program. 

The speakers—Ambassador Pertti Anttinen, representing the host, the Embassy of Finland in Budapest; Diana Madunic, Ambassador of Sweden to Budapest; Jonathan Lacôte, Ambassador of France to Budapest; Vegard Kaale, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Norway to Budapest; and Leslie Hayler, Second Secretary, representing the British Embassy – drew attention to the importance of free and independent journalism in their welcoming speeches. In addition to the speakers, the event was honored by the presence of Maria Egense, Deputy Head of Mission of Denmark to Budapest, Miroslav Zozulák, Minister-Counsellor, Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Budapest, and Katja Ullrich-Zessner, First Secretary of the German Embassy. 

Following the welcoming speeches, Marcell Dénes Jávor, communications manager at TI Hungary, interviewed the mentor-mentee pairs about the articles they had produced as part of the program.  

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Gergely Miklós Nagy, journalist at 24.hu, and his mentee, Vilmos Molnár, investigated suspicious real estate transactions in the 12th district that took place during the mayoral term of former Fidesz mayor Zoltán Pokorni. Their joint work resulted in two articles, and in their first published material, they revealed the adventurous sale of a plot of land in Kútvölgy. The district first sold the property, located a stone’s throw from the Zugliget cable car, to Hunyadbau Kft., a company owned by Ferenc Kis-Szölgyémi, also known as “the oligarch of the Hungarian cleaning industry,” from which the plot ended up in the hands of the wife of Deputy Mayor János Váczi, advisor of Zoltán Pokorni. 

In the second part of their investigation, the two authors presented seven other real estate sales which, similar to the sale of the Kútvölgy plot, ended up in the hands of people close to the district’s leadership or to government circles at the time. Elek Nagy, president of the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, acquired a 1,846-square-meter plot of land, while Tibor Veres, one of Hungary’s wealthiest businessmen, purchased real estate for 950 million forints. Behind the discounted purchases were also Zsolt Komonczi, who can be classified as part of the son-in-law of the Prime Ministter István Tiborcz’s circle, as well as certain members of the Matolcsy-clan, notorious for squandering the Hungarian National Bank’s hundreds of billions in assets. 

After carefully reviewing the sales, Gergely Miklós Nagy and Vilmos Molnár showed that the district sold the properties they inspected at significant discounts of 20-35%, and in some cases even 50%. Although Aquadom Kft., the company responsible for determining the market value of municipal real estate, prepared a preliminary estimate prior to the sale, the district leadership sold the properties in question at a price that resulted in the district’s coffers receiving HUF 2 billion less than if they had been sold at the average price.  

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The EU headquarters of Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC), which is supported wirh hundreds of billions of forints, is located in a modern office building at 70 Rue aux Laines in the center of Brussels, which was investigated by HVG journalist Viktória Serdült and her mentee, Dani Nádor  

Although Balázs Orbán, political director of PM Viktor Orbán, said at the opening of the Brussels office in 2022 that their goal was to nurture talent and involve students trained by the think tank in “the vibrant circulation of the European Union’s center,” the billion-dollar grant for last year was received for lobbying activities and to promote “its unique approach to the political, socio-economic, and cultural issues of our time.” 

There is no question that countless actors carry out similar activities at the heart of the European Union, but MCC Brussels’ lobbying activities are much more sophisticated than face-to-face lobbying. In addition, the think tank’s activities in the Brussels public sphere are not insignificant. According to one expert who spoke to the weekly newspaper, the think tank’s local office is institutionally embedded in the Hungarian government’s influence machinery, thanks to which, through a carefully constructed chain, the Orbán government’s messages can be conveyed to the mainstream press and public discourse from seemingly independent sources. 

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Zsuzsanna Wirth, associate of Direkt36, and her mentee Lél Kozek addressed a unique topic in their joint article that is not purely about corruption but is rarely discussed in Hungarian society and is considered almost taboo.  

In Hungary, according to data from the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH), one in eight pregnancies, or slightly more than 13,000 cases, end in miscarriage. These tragedies include so-called induced miscarriages, which are necessary when an advanced pregnancy must be terminated by medical intervention. Induced abortion is necessary if a genetic problem that threatens the mother’s life or health is discovered, an anatomical problem arises, or if there is a problem with the fetus: for example, its heart stops and it dies in the womb, or a genetic problem is detected. 

As the authors illustrate through personal examples, the procedure poses serious physical and emotional challenges for couples expecting a child. In addition, it is not uncommon for induced abortions to be accompanied by violations of the law and disrespectful practices, and the system often lacks humane treatment. The grief and loss that accompany these procedures not only deeply affect the parents, but also the healthcare workers, who must struggle to come to terms with what they have experienced. 

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After a long period of secrecy, Péter Szijjártó, the mayor of the city and the region’s pro-government member of parliament, announced in March this year that the Chinese company KunlunChem would build an electrolyte plant in Szolnok, as part of the Orbán-goverment’s efforts to build more and more battery producing and industry-related factories. Rumors and half-truths had already spread locally about the €100 million investment, which had already sparked numerous protests from local residents in other towns and county seats.  

As is well known, the Orbán government previously saw battery manufacturing as the industry that would boost the economy after car manufacturing—admittedly, this was clearly a mistake, as according to data published by the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH) this fall, the sector’s domestic performance has been stagnating for a long time and is showing a downward trend. 

However, all these data and prospects, as well as the local protests, did not prevent the cabinet from announcing the construction of another significant factory in the county seat. A comprehensive overview of local concerns and risks associated with this investment, as well as the turnaround in the Hungarian battery industry, is provided in a joint article by Tamás Bethlen, a reporter for szol24.hu, borsod24.hu, and szabolcs24.hu, and his mentee, Adrián Fazekas. 

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A decades-long personal conflict also played a role in the battle for the mayor’s seat in Körmend and the weakening of the local Fidesz organization, write Tamás Bod and his mentee, Ádám Reitli, in their report published in the weekly Magyar Narancs.  

Basketball has had a fan base in the Vas County town for decades, and as the authors recall, the events of the 1987 national championship final continued to influence the town’s political life decades later. The then coach of the town’s team, Imre Patonay, who later became mayor, did not play István Bebes, one of the key players of Dózsa MTE, for a single minute, and what happened in the final remained an unresolved conflict for a long time between István Bebes, who had since become mayor, and Imre Patonay, who ran for the position in 2019 as a member of a local civil organization. 

During this period, a political struggle broke out within the Körmend branch of Fidesz, and the local civil organization entitled Association for Change in the City, which nominated Imre Patonay as mayor, accused István Bebes, who had held the office uninterruptedly since 2002, of establishing a “one-man city administration.” Although Dr. Barna Szabó, the Fidesz-KDNP candidate, won the mayoral title in the 2024 municipal elections, the ruling parties lost their majority in the local council to local civil society organizations.  

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Following the presentation of articles written as part of TI Hungary’s 13th investigative journalism mentor program, the mentor-mentee pairs received their certificates, which were presented to this year’s participants by the executive director of TI Hungary. József Péter Martin also announced this year’s winner pair; based on the jury’s decision, first place went to Gergely Miklós Nagy, a journalist at 24.hu, and his mentee, Vilmos Molnár. 

The articles written by the participants of the 13th investigative journalism mentor program were evaluated by a four-member jury, whose members were: 

• Zsolt Bogár, lead editor of 24.hu 

• József Péter Martin, executive director of TI Hungary 

• András Stumpf, journalist and co-founder of Válasz Online 

• Ágnes Urbán, associate professor at Corvinus University of Budapest and director of the Mérték Media Monitor 

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The closing ceremony and awards presentation was followed by a reception hosted by the Finnish Embassy. The TI Hungary team would like to congratulate the winning pair of the 13th mentor-mentee program for investigative journalism, as well as all participants! 

Shaping social attitudes and engaging young people in the fight against corruption has been one of our primary goals for many years. With our investigative journalism mentoring program, our main aim is to build successful professional cooperation between mentors and young people who are interested in journalism but do not yet have any experience. TI Hungary’s 13th mentor-mentee program for investigative journalism in 2025 was supported by the French Embassy in Budapest, the Brittish Embassy in Budapest, and the Swedish Embassy in Budapest. The opening event of the 13th edition of the program was hosted by the Norwegian Embassy in Budapest, and the closing event, which included an awards ceremony, was hosted by the Finnish Embassy. We would like to take this opportunity to thank again the embassies for their support!