“That’s when they grabbed all the material they had on me, edited it, spun it around and published it as a sort of kompromat,” Panyi said, referring to a Russian term for compromising material.
Szijjártó has acknowledged speaking with Russian counterparts before and after EU meetings, following reporting by The Washington Post that he gave Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reports on what was discussed, and the possible solutions proposed, during EU meetings.
On Thursday, Minister of the Prime Minister’s Office Gergely Gulyás announced that the government had filed a criminal complaint against Panyi, accusing him of espionage and collusion with Ukrainian intelligence services. The complaint alleges he shared sensitive information about Szijjártó but does not disclose specific details or evidence. Prosecutors now have to decide whether to launch an investigation or not.
Orbán and Szijjártó have maintained close relations with the Kremlin — including making multiple trips to meet top-level officials in Moscow — even after the EU ostracized Russia following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. That has fueled ongoing tensions between Budapest and Kyiv, which continues to resist Russia’s aggression.
‘Betrayed’
Panyi said it had been an “open secret” among European security services that communications between Szijjártó and Lavrov were a regular occurrence. He said the communications were monitored by multiple intelligence agencies, but that no action was taken by EU governments.
“I kind of feel betrayed. I’ve always been feeling betrayed by the EU … how they let Orbán build his own small Russia,” he said. But this time “they had evidence that something almost criminal was going on and they didn’t act. As a Hungarian journalist and citizen, my mission was to make it public.” The European Commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.