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Hungary is buying Russian oil despite alternative supplies being available, according to a report that accuses Budapest of failing to pass down to consumers the savings it makes from buying cheap Russian fuels.

Instead, the savings become profits for Hungary’s largest oil company, which is part-owned by foundations linked to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, according to the report from the Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD), a European-based public policy institute, which shared an advance copy of its analysis with CNN.

“The dependence on discounted Russian oil has not trickled down to consumers,” Martin Vladimirov, director of CSD’s energy and climate program, told CNN. “Instead the profit from reselling cheap oil goes in the pocket of the monopoly supplier MOL in the form of excess profit, which indirectly funds Orbán’s state capture networks.”

 

Martin Vladimirov, Director, Energy & Climate Program
CNN, By buying Russia’s oil, Hungary is fueling the Kremlin’s war machine – and enriching foundations linked to Orbán, February 16, 2026

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