Hungarian public media chiefs are filing a police complaint over alleged unlawful management practices in previous years, the press office of the operator, Duna Médiaszolgáltató, said on Monday.
Orbán-linked politician ‘steered Hungary’s public media’
Internal letters, statements and other documents uncovered during a review of the then operator, the Media Services and Asset Management Fund (MTVA), reveal details of the political surveillance of the public media and the role played by Attila Várhegyi, a Fidesz-linked politician and businessman, in directing the organisation, the statement said.
According to the statement, the public media was effectively managed by Mr Várhegyi, who had been contracted as an adviser. He assumed the powers of media executives, making decisions on content, staffing and financial matters. “In many cases, those in charge of the institution did not even dare to make a decision without his consent,” it said.
Link between politicians and public media
The statement also suggested that Mr Várhegyi acted as a link between the political leadership and the public media, conveying the wishes of government ministers and Fidesz politicians.
“Várhegyi’s conduct clearly shows that the public media, which is legally required to be independent of political influence, was in fact under close political control,” the statement said.
According to the statement, not only was Mr Várhegyi’s informal influence unlawful, but so were “the benefits he accepted”.
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For years, for example, the public media provided him with a driver, who was employed as an event organiser “to conceal the truth in official documents”.
Mr Várhegyi also held weekly meetings with public media executives, at which “director general Dániel Papp and other leaders informed him about even the smallest matters”, consulted him on planned decisions and acted on his instructions, the statement said.
The document added that Mr Várhegyi had received a monthly salary of HUF 3.5 million since 2023.
Owner of Hollóháza porcelain brand
Mr Várhegyi owns 100 per cent of the shares in Hollóháza Porcelain Manufacturer, a world-renowned Hungarian brand that he bought in 2020. He paid HUF 175 million for the company at the time.
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