Thirteen men close to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's administration have collectively won more than 28 billion euros in government tenders since his election in 2010, an investigation by the Financial Times has revealed. Their 42 companies captured 14 percent of all funds awarded in state tenders - up from just 1 percent in the five years before Orbán took power.

The scale of the shift is staggering, "Hvylya" reports, citing an FT analysis of almost 350,000 public procurement contracts. The group averaged 1.8 billion euros per year under Orbán - a 15-fold increase from the 121 million euros per year they earned before his election. In the five years before he took power, they won a combined 608 million euros total.

"Orbán's system is a kleptocracy," said Istvan Janos Toth, an economist and director of the Corruption Research Center Budapest who has studied the system for the European Commission. "The elite robs the state of public funds, abusing a lack of the rule of law."

A key node in what Orbán calls the "System of National Co-Operation" is Lorinc Meszaros, the prime minister's childhood friend, who has risen from obscurity to become Hungary's richest person. The FT's list of major beneficiaries is filled with Meszaros's business associates, forming a tightly interconnected network that also includes Orbán's son-in-law Istvan Tiborcz and his longtime hiking partner Istvan Garancsi.

EU-commissioned research found that political connections significantly increased the likelihood of winning tenders in Hungary, with Orbán's Fidesz party at the center of the pattern. About 27 billion euros in EU funds were frozen over concerns about corruption and fraudulent tender processes - roughly 18 billion euros remains locked.

The corruption issue has become a flashpoint ahead of next month's election. Opposition leader Peter Magyar has tied Orbán personally to the graft allegations, calling him "the terrified emperor of Hatvanpuszta" at a rally - a reference to a former Habsburg manor now owned by Orbán's father. The opposition has surged to a double-digit lead in some polls, leaving Orbán's 16-year rule in serious jeopardy.

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