The Prime Minister's Office has filed a criminal complaint with the National Investigative Bureau (Nemzeti Nyomozó Iroda) against unknown perpetrators concerning a 300 million forint state grant awarded to the Mesterséges Intelligencia Kutató Központ Nonprofit Kft. (MIKK). The ministry said the use of the funds and the related procurement procedure raised suspicions of budget fraud, breach of trust and official misconduct.
The government statement did not specify which exact transactions or decisions prompted the allegations, nor did it state whether the authorities have already launched a formal investigation.
Company formation and the first grant
The Mesterséges Intelligencia Kutató Központ Nonprofit Kft. was registered in December 2024. Its owner and managing director was Tóth Dávid. Shortly after its registration the company received a 300 million forint grant from the Bethlen Gábor Alapkezelő intended to finance “targeted research on the state and social integration of artificial intelligence.” Transparency International Hungary later obtained the funding documents through an access-to-information request and subsequent litigation.
Procurement and the research programme
Using the grant, MIKK issued a public procurement in autumn 2025 for a large-scale AI research programme. The tender included multiple large-sample surveys: three telephone surveys of 500 respondents each, a 4,000-person in-person household survey, a 1,000-person online survey, an additional 4,000-person telephone data collection, and corporate research components. The contract was awarded to OBSERVER Médiafigyelő és Kutató Kft. with a net bid of 120 million forints; the contract was signed on 19 December 2025.
According to the Prime Minister's Office, the criminal complaint relates in part to the financial handling of these matters and the procurement process, but the ministry did not provide detailed grounds for the suspected offences.
Public scrutiny and availability of results
The MIKK had drawn media attention earlier; it became more widely known in autumn 2025 after the centre claimed that an aerial recording from the Tisza Party’s October 23 event was likely digitally manipulated. RTL reported that no functioning research institute could be found at the company’s registered Budatétény address.
In April 2026 Telex reported that, even after the deadline for spending the grant had passed, few of the research and communications outputs promised by the programme were publicly available. Since then, several research items have appeared on MIKK’s website, including the 4,000-person survey conducted by OBSERVER.
Second grant and reporting deadlines
MIKK received a second 300 million forint state grant in February 2026. Documents published by the press indicate that the decision was approved by Gulyás Gergely, then Minister heading the Prime Minister's Office. Based on those documents, the company obtained two grants of 300 million forints each; the records show that the funding was to be accounted for by the end of 2031 and 2032, respectively.
Next steps
Following the Prime Minister's Office’s complaint, the National Investigative Bureau may decide whether to open a criminal investigation. The ministry’s statement did not name any individuals or organisations under specific investigation, nor did it report any immediate actions taken by investigative authorities.
The complaint represents the latest development in controversies surrounding MIKK, raising questions about transparency in state funding, procurement practices, and public access to research results.
