Journalist: Young Orbán may have been a secret service informant, reports possibly held in Moscow
Hungarian journalist Szabolcs Pani claims in an investigation that former Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán may have cooperated with communist-era secret services in his youth. Orbán's spokesperson called the information fake.
Former Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán may have cooperated with the communist regime's secret services in his youth and written reports on fellow conscripts, with the originals possibly kept in Moscow. This is the conclusion of an investigation by Hungarian journalist Szabolcs Pani, reported by the Ukrainian outlet European Pravda. Orbán's spokesperson, approached by the journalist, called the information fake.
The former prime minister's testimony
The investigation relies on the testimony of Miklós Németh, a former Hungarian prime minister who led the government from 1988 to 1990. In a statement dated 30 March 2026, he recalls a meeting shortly before the first free parliamentary elections in March 1990. According to him, then defence minister Ferenc Karpáti handed him three original, handwritten and signed agent reports that were said to belong to Orbán.
Németh says the reports contained Orbán's observations about fellow conscripts during his military service in Zalaegerszeg, including their behaviour and their political, sexual and religious views. He noted that he had no way to verify the author's identity or the authenticity of the handwriting and signature, although he felt he recognised them. He returned the documents to Karpáti and kept no copies. The documents later disappeared, so their whereabouts are unknown.
Why the information emerged now
Németh, who is retired, shared his information after the change of power in Hungary. According to Pani, in recent years he had been waiting for legal changes that would allow him to make the materials in his possession public. In September, after the Hungarian government adopted a law expanding access to state documents, he handed the materials over to the archive.
Earlier developments
On Wednesday, 4 November, Hungary released tens of thousands of documents with data on people whom communist-era state security services listed as officers, informants, collaborators or potential agents. Earlier, the chief investigative prosecutor's office detained György Matolcsy, former head of Hungary's central bank and a minister under Orbán.
