Company linked to Fidesz aide bought historic Lake Balaton lodge from the state

A property company formerly co-owned and managed by an aide to senior Fidesz politician Máté Kocsis purchased a historic tourist lodge overlooking Lake Balaton from the Hungarian state, according to information obtained by Átlátszó.

PD Property Kft acquired the Rodostó tourist lodge in Badacsonytördemic for HUF 236.2 million at a state auction in September 2024. At the time, the company was managed and partly owned by Dávid Párkai, who was later employed by the Fidesz parliamentary group as a personal secretary assisting Kocsis, then the party’s parliamentary leader.

Párkai transferred his 50 percent stake and management position to another family member in May 2026, but represented the company during the transactions examined by Átlátszó.

The Rodostó lodge was built in 1936 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the death of Hungarian rebel Ferenc Rákóczi II. in exile in Turkey. Located on the western side of Badacsony, it offers panoramic views of Lake Balaton and the Tapolca Basin.

The building was nationalised in 1946 and later used by the communist-era Workers’ Militia. It remained state-owned after the fall of communism and was most recently managed by the Hungarian National Asset Management company, MNV.

MNV said two auctions for the property had been unsuccessful before PD Property submitted the highest valid bid in a third round. The sale agreement was signed on September 25, 2024.

Today, PD Property Kft. is listed as the owner on the title deed for the 8,298-square-meter plot, which is zoned for a tourist lodge and road. Map source: E-Közmű

According to an accounting table seen by Átlátszó, the purchase may have been financed by three individuals identified only as “Csupó”, “Máté” and “Dádi”. The document reportedly showed that “Csupó” contributed HUF 150 million, while “Máté” provided approximately HUF 47.5 million.

Átlátszó learned that the investors may have hoped to sell the property at a significant profit. The lodge was allegedly offered to Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church in 2025 for more than HUF 1 billion, more than four times the auction price.

Párkai said the company had purchased the property at a public auction and continued to own it.

A politician named Máté who was contacted by Átlátszó strongly denied any involvement, saying he had never had a legal or financial relationship with PD Property and had played no role in the purchase.

Károli University said it did not intend to buy the lodge but did not answer follow-up questions about whether it had previously received an offer or held negotiations.

Earlier role in publicly funded think tank’s villa purchase

Átlátszó also learned that Párkai and PD Property acted as real-estate intermediaries in the 2020 purchase of a Budapest villa by the Center for Fundamental Rights, a pro-government think tank largely financed through public funds.

The villa on Budakeszi Road was estimated to have cost around HUF 1.4 billion. Renovations, including the construction of a sauna and fitness room, reportedly cost a further HUF 300 million.

According to Átlátszó’s information, PD Property may have been entitled to a significant commission or success fee under an agreement with the seller. The company’s annual revenue increased from HUF 1.1 million in 2019 to HUF 144 million in 2020.

Párkai declined to discuss the fee, citing commercial confidentiality.

The former manager of the company that sold the villa confirmed that PD Property had introduced the buyer and had been commercially motivated to find a purchaser. He declined to disclose further details because of a confidentiality agreement.

Párkai also confirmed that he had previously worked under service contracts for both the company behind the Center for Fundamental Rights and the Oeconomus Economic Research Foundation. He said neither contract remained in force today.

Payment to former Fidesz official’s company

In a separate transaction, PD Property paid a net HUF 50 million, or HUF 63.5 million including VAT, to LightingMetrics Kft in 2025 as a success fee for business consulting, according to documents seen by Átlátszó.

LightingMetrics, which has since been renamed Sibboleth Kft, is associated with the family of Tamás Schanda, a former Fidesz state secretary and deputy minister.

Schanda did not deny that the payment had been made but said it resulted from a conventional commercial agreement between two independent private companies.

He said the project had no connection to Párkai’s later employment in the Fidesz parliamentary group and did not involve the privatisation of state-owned property. The details of the contract were confidential, he added.

Párkai similarly described the transaction as a private, market-based agreement and declined to disclose further information.

Párkai has also been linked to other organisations and transactions involving public money. Another company he owns, Patr-Event Kft, received HUF 450 million from a previously undisclosed HUF 17 billion fund administered by Hungary’s National Cultural Fund before the election.

PD Property also owns the Budapest apartment earlier occupied by Marcin Romanowski, a former Polish deputy justice minister wanted in Poland over alleged corruption offences. Romanowski was granted political asylum in Hungary and later received a position at the Center for Fundamental Rights.

Written by Zsuzsa Zimre and Tamás Bodoky, translated using artificial intelligence. The original Hungarian version of the story is here.