A Georgian-Israeli businessman, Shabtai Michaeli, is alleged to have attempted to approach Márk Radnai—widely regarded as a close ally of Péter Magyar—through the politician’s father, though the effort reportedly came to nothing after contact details were withheld. According to reports, Michaeli—named in Népszava as a notable beneficiary of schemes linked to the residency bond programme associated with Orbán government propaganda minister Antal Rogán—is said to have been unable to secure an introduction to Márk Radnai. Radnai is also the government commissioner for a “humane and functioning Hungary” and, in civilian life, a theatre director.
Rebuffed despite long-standing acquaintance
The businessman and László Radnai, former communications director of the Jobbik party’s parliamentary group and father of Márk Radnai, met just five days after the parliamentary elections. László Radnai stated that Michaeli had contacted him days earlier by telephone, claiming he wished to meet due to his father’s interest in reconnecting.
The two men reportedly have known each other for more than three decades and were once close friends as well as business associates, although they had not been in contact for around ten years. Radnai’s former political role under the leadership of Jobbik—then widely characterised abroad as far-right—was cited as the reason for the estrangement.
The meeting eventually took place on 17 April 2026 on a terrace near St Stephen’s Basilica in central Budapest. During the conversation, Michaeli allegedly raised the possibility of meeting Márk Radnai, whom he has known since childhood.
“When he steered the conversation towards what his actual intentions were, I told him plainly that this was completely impossible,” László Radnai said, making clear he would not facilitate any link between Michaeli and the Tisza Party vice-president.
“Reputation management” motive suggested
László Radnai later said he believed the purpose of the approach may have been reputational rather than political or business-related. “I had the impression the aim of the meeting was to help him, in effect, cleanse his image,” he said.
He added that he could not recall any specific business proposals raised by Michaeli and declined to disclose further details of the discussion in comments to 444, whose full report is behind a paywall.
Links to government residency scheme questioned
Népszava has previously highlighted a 2021 interview given by Michaeli to the news outlet Média1, in which he said he had maintained a friendly relationship with Antal Rogán for more than a decade, while insisting there had been no direct business dealings between them.
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However, reporting by Népszava suggests that a Liechtenstein-registered company linked to Michaeli, VolDan Investments, benefited significantly from Hungary’s residency bond scheme, earning intermediary fees estimated at €40,000–€60,000 per investor from a range of foreign nationals.
Transparency International Hungary and the Fiscal Accountability Institute Budapest have previously argued that, rather than generating revenue for the state as intended, the scheme resulted in an estimated loss of around HUF 30 billion to taxpayers, while potentially allowing entry to individuals considered security risks.
Alleged Russian intelligence connection
Separately, investigative reporting by Direkt36 has claimed that a residence linked to Michaeli’s business interests in Budapest was used as an official address by the son of Andrey Naryshkin, whose father, Sergey Naryshkin, heads Russia’s foreign intelligence service.
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