The centre, founded in December 2024, received the grant in February 2025 under the supervision of Vince Szalay-Bobrovniczky, then deputy state secretary at the PM's Office, the statement said. The funding was intended for research into "the integration of AI in the state and society".

The centre had no independent operational track record or verified research capacity when it received the grant, the statement said. Research materials submitted included documents apparently generated by AI and compilations of social media posts.

The centre outsourced research projects to Observer Mediafigyelo for 152.4 million forints, it said. The only other bid in the tender was declared invalid.

The centre also spent 37.3 million forints on communication and IT services, 22.5 million forints on property rental, 69.2 million forints on wages and 6.27 million forints on other operating costs, the statement said. It returned 12.3 million forints to the state.

In March, the previous government allocated another 300 million forints to the centre without a competitive bidding process, the statement said. The funds were disbursed on March 18 but repaid in full on April 14 after several researchers left, citing their "professional activity was essential for the planned project to be realised".

The Prime Minister's Office said the use of the 2025 grant and subsequent financial reporting raised suspicions that funds were used for unintended purposes and included false information, it added. The repayment of the 2026 grant suggested a lack of research capacity, casting doubt on the centre's claimed independent research performance for 2025, it said.

Source: MTI – Hungary’s national news agency since 1881.

Photo: Pixabay

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