The Hungarian government filed a lawsuit on Aug. 11 over four billion forints, about 10.7 million euros, spent on social media communications for former prime minister Viktor Orban.
The legal action against persons unknown follows an audit of contracts by the services of Prime Minister Peter Magyar, according to a government press release sent to Agence France-Presse. The government cited suspicions of mismanagement of public funds and abuse of power following a political transition in April.
Contract details and audit findings
In 2022, the prime minister's office under Antal Rogan, a close associate of Orban and government communications chief, signed a contract with Triton Communications. The company was owned by Fanni Kaminski, who presented herself as Orban's communications advisor.
Triton Communications produced photos, videos, and social media monitoring reports. According to the government, the firm received 4.23 billion forints in public money over 44 months.
The government said the contract value was increased four times without any substantial changes to the requested services. It added that the services were priced at least three times higher than market rates.
In a Facebook post, Kaminski rejected the allegations. She stated that Triton Communications fulfilled all contract obligations and could justify its work point by point.
Asset recovery initiatives
Magyar won parliamentary elections in April after centering his campaign on fighting corruption and recovering public assets. Since taking office, he has launched several initiatives to examine state management during Orban's terms.
The new administration has created an Office for the Recovery and Protection of Assets. The agency is tasked with locating and returning public assets believed to have been improperly transferred under the previous government.
