Corruption scheme linked to USAID allegedly uncovered in Hungary

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The Sovereignty Protection Office said on Thursday that it has uncovered “a system of political corruption with threads running through USAID, the European Union, and Hungarian politics and media”.

Destabilising countries

The office said in a statement that its 16 page report presented in detail “how a comprehensive international network helped US public monies get converted into “private money”, then “domestic money”, and how these resources were used in line with US Democrats’ interests to influence public thinking about migration, gender and war”.

Under the arrangements of the Central Europe Programme (CEP) launched in 2021, USAID “officially allocated 35 million dollars for the purpose of exerting political pressure in eight countries of the region”, the statement said. The total amount might have been significantly higher, as reflected by a statement by USAID leader Samantha Power at a 2023 Senate hearing, it added.

The office said that “the organisations supported by CEP worked on destabilising those countries of the region whose governments were developing policies that were not in line with the Democrats’ progressive values, according to the assessment of the American deep state”. “Most of the money was channelled to Hungary and Poland, since the Hungarian and the former Polish governments occupied positions that went against the those of the Democrat leadership in decisive political matters,” it added.

USAID supported politically pressure organisations

The Sovereignty Protection Office’s report highlighted that “USAID support in Hungary encouraged the activities to politically pressure organisations, and there were significant overlaps between the recipients and the beneficiaries of the George Soros Open Society Foundation,” the statement said.

“The funding received was used by media pretending to be independent to attempt to weaken the positions of the Hungarian government with methods such as shaping public opinion, preparing reports for EU procedures against Hungary, and supporting various narratives of disinformation,” it said.

“A significant part of the pressure network financed from abroad has been uncovered, the Sovereignty Protection Office has revealed the mediators, the money distribution organisations and the recipients,” the statement said. It added that the data uncovered so far was not yet complete and more was expected to be revealed thanks to the work of government commissioner András László.

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