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Viktor Orbán’s secret adviser takes over Budapest casinos
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After quite some time spent away from spotlight, Árpád Habony, PM Viktor Orbán’s secret adviser reappeared on the scene. Not just any way: as an investor. He has officially taken over a third of the Las Vegas Casino group. The group will operate five gambling dens in the capital and the vegas.hu/vipcasino.hu online platforms until 2056.
Who is Árpád Habony?
Árpád Habony is a Hungarian entrepreneur, political advisor and Viktor Orbán’s personal chief strategic advisor – albeit, in principle, secretly. After being involved in a number of controversial cases in the 2010s, the ruling party Fidesz denied that there was any official link between the party and Habony. Orbán also denied knowing him personally, K-Monitor Adatbázis reports.
On the contrary, some Fidesz politicians or former Budapest Mayor István Tarlós did not deny that they had consulted him or asked for his advice. In the latter case, he mediated between Orbán and Tarlós (despite Orbán’s claim that he did not know Habony personally), and the mayor later admitted that Habony regularly gave him advice.