MEET… THE PROPAGANDIST
MEET…THE PROPAGANDIST
Cardinal Richelieu, Rasputin, Henry Kissinger, Steve Bannon…and Antal Rogan.
History is full of examples of shadowy men behind the scenes pulling the strings of power.
Minister of the Prime Minister’s Cabinet Office since 2015 and a close associate of Victor Orban, Antal has built a web of influence that puts him among Hungary’s most powerful people.
But Antal is facing a string of corruption allegations.
When the United States Treasury sanctions you for corruption, things must already be pretty bad. And that’s exactly what happened to Antal in January 2025.
US Ambassador to Hungary David Pressman accused Antal of being the “primary architect, implementer, and beneficiary” of a network of corruption involving his political allies.
But just three months later, Marco Rubio’s State Department removed Antal from the Treasury’s sanctions list. The only explanation – the sanctions were now “inconsistent with US foreign policy interests”.
Corruption cannot be swept under the rug. It’s time the Hungarian people got answers.
WHY IT MATTERS
Where corruption thrives, democracy dies. Hungary’s democracy has been under threat for some time now.
In September 2022, the European Parliament said that it could no longer consider Hungary a full democracy.
For as long as corruption allegations against the country’s elite continue to go unanswered, Hungary’s democracy will remain in fatal danger.
THE PAPER TRAIL
2006 – As Mayor of Budapest’s District V, Antal came to own several luxury apartments that could not be afforded on a government salary. Antal’s use of fraudulent financial statements were also, apparently, the “talk of the town”.
2013 – Still as Mayor, Antal’s neighbour Csaba Csetenyi won nine tobacco tenders. Csetenyi’s tobacco company – Hamu es Gyemant Kft. – was also granted three premises in the heart of Budapest. Coincidence?
2014 – Now as Chairman of the Economic Committee, Antal proposed a controversial bond programme to the Hungarian parliament. Non-European Union investors could buy government bonds for €300,000 to get the right to live in Hungary. The catch? Eight companies were licensed to sell bonds on behalf of the government – but seven of them were registered in anonymous off-shore jurisdictions.
The program was suspended in 2017, but estimates show the 8 companies pulled in over $600 million between them.
2016 - Antal and his family travelled by helicopter to a wedding. When confronted by a Hungarian newspaper about the trip, Antal denied everything. And when the newspaper showed him pictures as proof, Antal simply stopped responding.
2017 – Csaba Csetenyi (him again) was awarded a €21 million contract by the Prime Minister’s Office to launch government “information campaigns” (read: propaganda). But the best part is that the contract was paid for out of EU funds. It pays to keep your neighbors on side.