Companies controlled by 13 associates of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán have won more than 700 million euros in EU-funded contracts even after the European Union began freezing about 27 billion euros owed to Hungary over corruption concerns in 2022. In total, the group has secured 12 billion euros in EU-funded contracts since Orbán's election in 2010 - up from just 379 million euros in the five years before he took power.

"It is telling that the numbers continue to rise even though the Commission has said they have frozen the most vulnerable budget lines," Daniel Freund, a Green lawmaker in the European Parliament who specializes in anti-corruption, told the Financial Times, as reported by "Hvylya". "They have still found ways to get money."

The EU froze funds after research it commissioned found that politically connected actors were 2.5 to 3.3 times more likely to win government contracts in Hungary. Connections to Orbán's Fidesz party were identified as "a decisive factor" in increasing the probability of winning tenders.

Several people working on EU procurement told the FT it was difficult to sustain corruption allegations because Hungary's public tenders generally complied with formal rules. They noted it was technically legal to design tender criteria that only specific bidders could meet - a practice that critics say is central to how the system operates.

One of the most striking examples is Orbán's son-in-law Istvan Tiborcz, who became one of Hungary's richest businessmen partly via government deals. In 2017, Olaf, the EU's anti-fraud watchdog, concluded that his company Elios had breached EU procurement rules and ordered 43 million euros paid back to Brussels. Local Hungarian authorities found no wrongdoing.

A European Commission official said Brussels "continues to monitor the situation in all member states, including Hungary, and stands ready to make full use of the range of tools at its disposal." About 18 billion euros in EU funds remain frozen.

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