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Entity Type: Domestic State-Run Enterprise

Friends of Hungary Foundation

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The Friends of Hungary Foundation (Magyarország Barátai Alapítvány) is a Hungarian diaspora NGO established in 2011 by 13 founding members, including prominent Hungarian scientists, bankers, and cultural figures based across Europe, the US, and Singapore. Per its founding letter, the foundation exists to inform the international community about Hungary and Hungarians worldwide in a nonpartisan way while celebrating Hungarian achievements abroad. The letter states that the founders “considered it necessary to establish an organization that would value-consciously but impartially inform the Friends of Hungary community and the public about events and achievements related to Hungary and Hungarians living in the world.” The foundation also committed founders to supporting “European Hungary,” backing efforts to culturally unite Hungarians across borders, and protecting minority rights and peaceful coexistence between nations. It also commits founders to supporting “European Hungary,” backing efforts to culturally unite Hungarians across borders, and protecting minority rights and peaceful coexistence between nations. The foundation operates two news portals, Hungary Today and Ungarn Heute, and publishes a magazine mailed to diaspora Hungarians. Based on the Media and Journalism Research Center’s State Media Monitor platform, these news portals have consistently amplified pro-government narratives despite the foundation’s stated nonpartisanship. Board chair István Stumpf, who took over leadership in 2024, served as a government commissioner under the Orbán leadership. Over the years, Orbán has also attended the foundation’s conferences, thanking the group for its role in cultivating diaspora ties to the Hungarian state. The foundation’s ties to Orbán extend to its funding base. Among its donors is MOL Group, an oil and gas company in which the Hungarian state holds shares and over which Orbán’s government has exercised significant structural influence. The government has also transferred large blocks of MOL stock, worth billions of dollars, to foundations run by political allies, rather than retaining the shares.

Perforadora Santa Bárbara S.A. de C.V.

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Perforadora Santa Bárbara S.A. de C.V. (聖巴巴拉鑽井公司), renamed Inversiones Santa Bárbara (ISB) in September 2021, is a Salvadoran state-owned subsidiary primarily engaged in the geothermal energy sector. It is a direct subsidiary of LaGeo, which is in turn owned by the state electricity commission, Rio Lempa Executive Hydroelectric Commission (CEL). Although its official business focus involves the sale of machinery and spare parts for geothermal well drilling, the company serves as the 99 percent majority shareholder of El Diario Nacional S.A. de C.V., the corporate entity behind the pro-government newspaper Diario El Salvador. Investigations published by El Salvador Now have revealed that the company acted as a financial intermediary, receiving multi-million dollar loans from LaGeo to fund the newspaper’s launch and operations. This corporate structure has been described by legal analysts as a “flight from administrative law,” allowing the government to manage public funds through private corporate shells to avoid the transparency requirements typically applied to state institutions.