Orbán also indicated that his resigned chief of staff, Gergei Guyas, would take over the leadership of the FIDES parliamentary group.
In a video address on Facebook, Orbán announced that a number of key decisions were taken at a party meeting, including a restructuring of the parliamentary group. Its new composition is expected to be formed on Monday, under the leadership of Guiash.
Orbán emphasized that the seat in the parliament that he received as the leader of the FIDES list formally belongs to the party, so he decided to give it up to be filled by another of its representatives. He added that his role is rather outside the parliament: “I am needed not in the parliament, but for the reorganization of the national movement.”
Infrastructure scandal worth millions with his father’s company
Shortly before that, it became clear that a company linked to his family was at the center of a new scandal over a large-scale infrastructure project in Hungary.
The company Dolomit Kft, owned by Orbán’s father – Džeja Orbán, supplied construction materials for the reconstruction of the Budapest-Belgrade railway line. According to an investigation by the 444.hu portal, it is about more than 200,000 tons of stone delivered in 2022 and 2023, and the company is among the regular winners of state contracts, including the expansion of the M1 highway, writes BGNES.
Already in February 2023, the main contractors of the railway project – the Chinese company China Tiejiuju Engineering & Construction and the company associated with the businessman Lorinz Mesaros V-Híd – made official remarks about the quality of the supplied material. According to them, it did not meet the technical requirements of the Hungarian railways, especially in terms of grain size and other key parameters.
In a letter dated April 2023, the Chinese contractor indicated that samples of the already embedded material had been tested by an independent laboratory, which found deviations. According to the analysis, granulation is not suitable for use in a critical layer of the railway structure – the one that provides stability and load-bearing capacity of the line. Although another laboratory engaged by the Chinese side has reported that the material “barely meets the requirements”, doubts about the quality remain.
Dolomit admits that there were problems with the composition of the material, explaining them as heavy rains that caused the stone to mix with clay and mud. However, according to documents, no substantial corrections occurred, and some of the disputed material was still used. It is a mixture of SZK1 – a sand-gravel combination used for a stabilizing layer under the rails.
At the same time, there are allegations in the industry that the firm is selling its materials at higher prices than the competition, relying on a reputation for quality that is now in question.
The company played a significant role in the project, supplying huge quantities of stone in just two years. It also often wins government contracts. In 2024, Dolomit made a profit of around 7 million euros, which was withdrawn from the company.
Meanwhile, a new investigation is emerging related to another family company – Hahót Tőzeg Kft., owned by Orbán’s brothers and their mother. The mining regulator checks whether the company complies with the permitted mining volumes. For now, the inspection is ongoing and no results or sanctions have been announced.
In contrast to Dolomit, this company has significantly smaller financial results – around €930,000 in revenue and €350,000 in profit for 2024.
