Miniszterelnökség Files Complaint Over 3 Billion Forint Contract

The Miniszterelnökség has filed a criminal complaint over a nearly three-billion-forint advisory contract awarded without a public procurement procedure to a company linked to a former government minister.

Government Bypassed Procurement Laws Using Pandemic Exemption

The Orbán government paid close to three billion forints in public funds to a firm tied to a former minister through a consulting agreement finalized in just three days. The previous administration bypassed public procurement laws by citing the coronavirus pandemic, even though the advisory contract held no health-related functions. A government decree from January 2021 concerning the contract was classified until 2040, according to an official announcement published on kormany.hu.

The Miniszterelnökség filed the complaint on suspicion of public fund embezzlement, budgetary fraud, and official misconduct. The stated subject of the agreement involved consulting services linked to introducing United States innovations and high-tech solutions to Hungary to offset the negative economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

The contract went to an American firm, EAC International. At the time of the agreement, the owner and CEO of the company was Tamás Fellegi, who served as the national development minister in the second Orbán government.

Handwritten Notes Linked Specific Company to Procurement Exemption

The classified government decree designated the Miniszterelnökség to prepare the contract. A handwritten document from the day of the decision listed which company should receive the request for a proposal, along with Tamás Fellegi’s name, phone number, and his signature acknowledging that he had reviewed the contents of the file.

Gergely Gulyás submitted the request for the procurement exemption to the operational body responsible for handling the pandemic response, acting on a ministerial decision. Sándor Pintér responsible for health affairs, granted the exemption.

The current government maintains that no valid justification connects economic development consulting, investor relations, and high-tech import strategies to the actual health-related defense against the virus.

Audit Reveals Lack of Control over Public Fund Payments

During the internal review, auditors found a slip of paper left on a performance report asking a state secretary to sign a document that a representative of EAC International would sign afterward. The Miniszterelnökség stated that this detail points to a lack of meaningful control between accepting the performance and paying out the fee, suggesting the transaction relied solely on formal signatures.

The audit findings raise suspicions that authorities conducted the procurement without competition, genuine legal grounds, or public scrutiny, and that the public funds paid out did not match the value of the actual services delivered.

The Fidesz parliamentary group issued a statement rejecting the allegations:

The Fidesz faction claimed that the current wave of complaints from the Tisza government lacks legal foundation and is merely mood-mongering intended to cover up governmental incompetence. They stated that the former Prime Minister’s Office executed a classified government decree in accordance with the decree’s contents, and that exemption from public procurement follows directly from the classified status.

The Fidesz faction added that the exemption did not rely on health justifications because the operational group held the legal authority to grant exemptions to offset negative economic impacts from the pandemic, which operates as an automatic measure for classified government decrees. The statement noted that the National Authority for Data Protection and Freedom of Information approved maintaining the classification, and that all performance certificates followed legal requirements.