Tens of millions of euros, directed by the Viktor Orban government, to the foundations around the UDMR

UDMR benefited from a systematic funding mechanism from the government in Budapest and Fidesz, built through apparently independent foundations, but deeply integrated into the political structure of the Union, through which sums of the order of tens of millions of euros were directed, used for the development of an administrative, social and even electoral infrastructure that operated in parallel with the party led by Viktor Orban and in support of it, a sophisticated model of indirectly supplying a political formation in Romania with public money from another state, according to a journalistic investigation published by atlatszo.ro.

The data published by the cited source show unequivocally that the core of this system is represented by two entities - Iskola Alapítvany and Eurotrans Alapítvany, both created by the UDMR, operated by people from Kelemen Hunor's narrow circle and organically connected to the political structure of the Union. These are not simple civic organizations, but functional extensions of the party: the legal representative of both foundations is Nagy Zoltan-Levente, the chief of staff of Kelemen Hunor, former president of Iskola and a central figure in the management of the funds; the director of Eurotrans, Balazs-Leszai Orsolya, is the wife of Balazs Attila, executive leader of the UDMR. Moreover, the institutional overlap is obvious: common headquarters, common staff, offices in the same buildings, including the fact that central structures of the UDMR operate in buildings owned by the Iskola Alapítvany.

This architecture is not just a coincidence, but the response to a legal constraint: Romanian law prohibits the financing of parties by foreign entities or states. The solution found was to circumvent the ban through an ecosystem of foundations that receive money from Hungary for "projects”, but which, in reality, maintain the political infrastructure of the UDMR, claims the cited source. In parallel, the UDMR also manages Romanian public funds for minorities, which creates a double financial flow, one internal and one external, which converges in the same system of influence.

The financial dimension is overwhelming. Through the Bethlen Gabor Alap alone, the two foundations received at least 18 billion forints by the end of 2025, i.e. approximately 47 million euros at the exchange rate of April 2026. These amounts do not include other funding coming through other channels or in less transparent periods. In parallel, Eurotrans has benefited since 2015 from direct funding for the naturalization program for Hungarians in Romania: 250 million forints annually in 2015-2016, approximately 400 million annually from 2021 and approximately 700 million forints annually in the period 2023-2025. In total, this foundation alone has accumulated about 3.16 billion forints since 2015.

The cited source states that Eurotrans Alapítvany has become a veritable parallel administrative apparatus. Officially, it assists citizens in obtaining Hungarian citizenship. In reality, it manages a complete ecosystem: naturalization files, electoral registrations, data updates, passport applications, civil status documents and access to programs such as Köldökzsinor. The data is eloquent: by 2025, the foundation managed approximately 125,000 naturalization applications, 15,000 files in the Köldökzsinor program, 38,000 civil status applications and 25,000 passport applications. The average cost per file reached about 25,000 forints (approximately 65 euros), more than four times higher than in the case of the competing network previously operated by EMNT, where the cost was about 5,700 forints.

This infrastructure is not politically neutral, the cited source claims. By directly contacting tens of thousands of people and by managing sensitive processes such as electoral registration, the foundation has become a strategic instrument in the relationship between Fidesz and the Hungarian electorate abroad.

In parallel, the Iskola Alapítvany has been transformed into a vehicle for massive investments, with a dual role: cultural and structural. Projects such as "1000 Years in Transylvania, 100 Years in Romania” received 960 million forints, the afterschool program was funded with 4.5 billion forints and expanded from 23 locations and 1,800 children to 63 locations and approximately 3,000 beneficiaries, and editorial and cultural activities received another hundreds of millions. Since 2024, the foundation has also financed magazines such as Lato, Szekelyföld, Helikon or Újvarad.

But the real stake is the infrastructure. Iskola has built an impressive real estate portfolio, financed almost entirely by Hungarian public money, according to the cited investigation. The building on Şoimului Street in Cluj, of 2,400 square meters and 21 apartments, built in 2009 for approximately 1.35 million euros, is just the beginning. Minerva Cultural Center, a 3,100 square meter project in the center of Cluj, has a budget of 3.3 billion forints. In Oradea, the Sonnenfeld-palota absorbed approximately 5 billion forints and is not completed even in 2026, with the construction permit having expired.

The list goes on: "Kek haz” in Miercurea Ciuc, bought and renovated for about 1.1 million euros, simultaneously houses the headquarters of Eurotrans, Pro Economica and Kelemen Hunor; the villa in Băile Tuşnad, renovated together with a conference center for almost 4.8 million euros; the Potoczky-haz in Târgu Mureş, bought for approximately 1.5 million euros and renovated for another 420,000 euros; a headquarters offered free of charge to the Hungarian Writers' Union of Transylvania; and, most spectacularly, the acquisition in 2025 of the company Adalgo Mirus Kft., which owns a villa in the center of Cluj, valued at 9.1 million euros.

This latest transaction is emblematic of the system's opacity. Although there is an almost perfect coincidence between the amount paid and a financing approved in 2024 of 3.66 billion forints for "real estate development in Cluj”, the decision was later formally revoked, with the explanation that it "loses its effect”, invoking the "right of appreciation” of the financier. Nevertheless, the acquisition was made.

The proof of the direct link between the foundations and the UDMR is not only institutional or financial, but also physical. The cited source states that a simple check on Google Street View of the building in Târgu Mureş simultaneously shows the Eurotrans logo and the UDMR symbol on the same building, confirming what the documents suggest: there is no real separation between the foundations and the party.

Overall, the system described is not just a financing network, but an architecture of power. Hungary's public money has been transformed into offices, programs, jobs and services that create dependency and loyalty, and these resources are managed by people from within the UDMR, for the direct or indirect benefit of the party. The foundations have thus become the legal interface of external political financing, and Transylvania - the terrain on which this model is implemented on a large scale.

In this context, the statement made by Peter Magyar, the leader of the Tisza party, made after winning the parliamentary elections in Hungary, takes on a new meaning. Peter Magyar stated: "I convey to every Hungarian abroad that they can continue to rely on the Tisza government. They will receive the same subsidies, they will continue to have dual citizenship and the right to vote; only the money they have received as support so far, most of it, will no longer be stolen by criminals linked to Viktor Orban, but will truly reach the Hungarian people, whether they live in Vojvodina or in Transylvania, in Romania.”

It remains to be seen whether Magyar, in the meeting with Kelemen Hunor that he convened in Budapest, will consider him one of the "criminals linked to Viktor Orban" or not.