Transparency International Hungary engaged in harmful lobbying, Sovereignty Protection Office claims

The activities of the Sovereignty Protection Office directed against Transparency International Hungary gained momentum in the summer, and have now reached a new chapter. In a report issued on Monday, the Office said that TI Hungary is "engaged in activities which, based on disinformation, aim to stigmatize and influence Hungarian state institutions and is – as part of a global lobbying network – serving the interests of superpowers".

The report summarizes the overall investigation into TI Hungary, and concludes:

“As part of a global lobbying network that has been in operation for more than thirty years, TI Hungary has been engaged in applying political pressure according to the interests of the superpowers behind the network.”

The network called Transparency International (TI) was set up by the World Bank, which represents the interests of the United States of America, with the goal of furthering its strategic objectives, the report says. One of the agency's main accusations against TI is that it relies on foreign state funding to carry out its activities. The foreign financiers include the World Bank, the European Commission and the Open Society Foundation linked to George Soros, the agency says. They further argue that

the concepts of "transparency" and "anti-corruption" investigated by TI Hungary are not meant to promote a clean public life or even competition between the actors in the market, but are in fact weapons of American economic and political interests.

The SPO adds that TI Hungary is carrying out its disinformation-based, influencing activities that are harmful to Hungary by appropriating these topics and stigmatizing Hungary and Hungarian state institutions.

The Office also found it disturbing that TI Hungary is trying to discredit Hungary and the Hungarian state administration by conducting surveys disguised as "scientific". In their view, such “shadow reports containing disinformation are causing genuine political, economic and social damage to Hungary.”

Transparency International Hungary responded to our inquiry about the report by saying that they expected to receive the report before it was published, as required by the Sovereignty Protection Act. This would have made it possible for them to respond and then receive feedback from the SPO. However, the office first released the report to the pro-government press and only then did they publish it themselves, which TI Hungary says is not only against the law but is also improper.

As they themselves have only just been informed of the report, they are not in a position to react at such short notice. As soon as they have been able to process and interpret the report and have further information, they will share it with the public, they said.

One thing TI Hungary did say in its response, however, is that while the agency is accusing them of lacking transparency, it in fact has access to all the data that concerns them. While the SPO is accusing them of not being transparent based on the data about their finances, their income and their donors, it is precisely because of their transparent operation that the government authority had access to this information.

The Sovereignty Protection Office, headed by Tamás Lánczi, started its operations in February of this year, following the adoption of the Sovereignty Protection Act adopted in December 2023. Transparency International Hungary, which is engaged in fighting corruption and promoting transparency, was one of the first targets of the institution, and the SPO launched proceedings against them in June this year. Shortly afterwards, in August, Tamás Lánczi and Miklós Ligeti, TI Hungary's legal director, debated at Tranzit Festival in Tihany.

During the discussion, when describing the situation, Lánczi confronted Ligeti in a very hostile tone. "You must understand that you are not above the Hungarian state. The legitimacy of the Hungarian state is unchallengeable (...) You are trying to cling to a legitimacy that you yourselves have created, claiming that you are fighting for some sort of noble goal. But the fact is that this game is now over," Lánczi said at the time. In its report on the debate, the pro-government Mandiner described it as TI's "Stalingrad".