“We’re celebrating, and they’re terribly jealous” – [Hungarian Foreign Minister] Péter Szijjártó posted this caption with a video on his social media page on September 5, 2022. The video was recorded on that day in Debrecen, where the foreign minister announced a massive investment. Szijjártó directed this sharp remark at those who had previously criticized the government’s economic strategy, known as the “Eastern Opening.”
The investment was a battery factory in Debrecen by the Chinese company Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL), which became one of the Orbán government’s flagship projects and was a matter close to Szijjártó’s heart.
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Szijjártó called the factory construction the largest investment ever made in Hungary, which he believes will help Hungary strengthen its struggling economy. The government has designated the CATL construction project as a priority investment and has committed nearly HUF 88 billion (EUR 227 million) toward the HUF 3000 billion (EUR 7,7 billion) project.
According to documents obtained by Direkt36, this massive, state-subsidized showcase project generated billions in revenue for a company owned by Péter Szijjártó’s longtime friend, Szilárd Benkő. Verbau Kft. secured contracts worth nearly 7 billion forints for construction work related to the factory.
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Direkt36 has previously covered Szilárd Benkő and his ties to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Péter Szijjártó in several articles. We revealed that Benkő, who worked as one of Szijjártó’s closest associates until 2015 and played futsal with him, helped Fidesz’s election campaign in 2018 as a member of a team of poster vandals.
We have also discovered that one of Szilárd Benkő’s companies received nearly HUF 300 million (EUR 776.000) in non-repayable grants in 2020 from an affiliate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. It was also during that year that the photo was taken showing Benkő traveling alongside Szijjártó aboard a luxury yacht named Lady MRD.
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