One of the richest Hungarians gave a fortune to PM Orbán’s son-in-law
Between 2019 and 2022, the company empire of Viktor Orbán’s son-in-law, István Tiborcz, received more than HUF 27 billion (EUR 71.1 million) from a mysterious source. Evidently, so far, noone had the intention to disclose anything about where the money came from, not even Mr Tiborcz. However, now, a piece of evidence has been found. A document suggests that the source of the money may have been one of the country’s richest men, Dániel Jellinek.
Jellinek, the 7th richest person in Hungary
Dániel Jellinek is currently the 7th richest person in Hungary, as you can see HERE. He had been quite rich since around 2006, according to his own report, and could have already made it to the list of the richest people in Hungary. However, it was in the early 2020s that businesses and billions of public money linked to the state started to find Jellinek.
Due to several deals and businesses, the press started to talk more and more often about Jellinek’s connection with the Orbán-cabinet, and especially with Viktor Orbán’s family. However, G7 has now found a document suggesting that Jellinek was the source of the money that miraculously ended up with Orban’s son-in-law.
Relations between Jellinek and the Orbán family
Mr Jellinek claims to be a non-political market player. However, he has received HUF tens of billions of public money and has been involved in state-related business deals in recent years. Nevertheless, he did a lot of business directly with István Tiborcz. Among others, he sold the Gellért Hotel to Orbán’s son-in-law. Meanwhile, the situation was reversed at the Appennin real estate company. What is more, they also jointly own the Waberer’s logistics company.
The G7 has now found an interconnected chain of evidence, assembled from information dropped from public company documents, that suggests that nearly HUF 30 billion in money transfers from Jellinek went to Tiborcz’s pockets.
Who is Áron Hornung and what is his role in the story?
Contrary to Jellinek’s earlier claim, the shares of Geraldton Plc, one of the billionaire’s asset management companies, are not only held by his family members, but also by a little-known Pécs entrepreneur, Áron Hornung. Efforts have been made to hide the cash flows. However, in recent years, Jellinek’s trustee has paid out more than HUF 27 billion (EUR 71.1 million) to Hornung as preferential dividends.
But who is Hornung? He is a member of István Tiborcz’s friendship group from his high school years. On paper, Hornung is the sole owner of a company that received billions from Jellinek. However, in reality, there is a mysterious other shareholder who could have received almost all of the company’s profits.
This mysterious owner may be the BDPST Group of Tiborcz. Their dividend income (from unknown sources) is exactly the same (more than HUF 27 billion) as the amount paid out through Hornung. Another bonus is that Jellinek and Hornung’s company is accounted for by the company of a BDPST employee. They also prepare the accounts of several companies of the Orbán family.
What is Jellinek’s response to all this?
All parties concerned have been contacted by G7. Dániel Jellinek, who has been a regular contributor to the press, retracted his statement to G7. He warned the news portal of the possible legal consequences through his lawyer. Both Áron Hornung’s company and the owner of the accountancy firm have also threatened legal action.
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