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The Rog\u00e1ns\u2019 apparently costly lifestyle \u2013 their fancy apartment in Budapest\u2019s wealthy district, their expensive clothes and foreign trips – had drawn scrutiny even before these revelations. At the same time, Rog\u00e1n\u2019s monthly salary \u2013 according to detailed calculations by Hungarian news site Index.hu<\/a> \u2013 in the period between 2009 and 2013 was between 1,830 and 3,900 euros. It\u2019s unlikely that his wife, Cecilia Rog\u00e1n was able to contribute to covering these costs, since according to her own statements she started working only in 2016 (at a PR company where she immediately became a co-owner) – long after they started using rented cars.<\/p>\n Other people with ties to Rog\u00e1n and Viktor Orb\u00e1n\u2019s government used Mercarius\u2019 cars too. Rog\u00e1n\u2019s former deputy mayor Andr\u00e1s Pusk\u00e1s rented an Audi S3 from this company and Fanny Kaminski, former wife of PM Orb\u00e1n\u2019s chief advisor \u00c1rp\u00e1d Habony, who became known as the person managing the Facebook page of the PM, also used a Lexus SUV that was operated by Mercarius.<\/p>\n Mercarius has won several major public tenders in recent years. It received high-value contracts from state-owned electricity and railway companies, as well as the state company in charge of the Paks nuclear power plant expansion.<\/p>\n Mercarius stated that our questions “concern sensitive business areas” and responding them are not in line with “data management principles” and therefore did not wish to comment. Rogan and the company renting the car for Kaminski did not react and the rest of the people involved also did not provide a response in merits.<\/p>\n Currently serving as PM Orb\u00e1n\u2019s chief of staff, Antal Rog\u00e1n\u2019s wealth had already been scrutinized by journalists and opposition politicians. His luxurious lifestyle came under spotlight before the 2014 parliamentary elections when new details were revealed about his apartment and the cars he used.<\/p>\n Antal Rog\u00e1n,\u00a0PM Orb\u00e1n\u2019s chief of staff<\/p><\/div>\n Although the articles from that time did not mention it, this rental company was Mercarius Fleet Manager Ltd. Photos by Hungarian media outlet ATV<\/a> showed the name and logo of the fleet company on the license plates of the cars.<\/p>\n Multiple sources familiar with Mercarius\u2019 operations told Direkt36 that Rog\u00e1n and his wife used several of the company\u2019s cars. This is also suggested by an invoice of 12,300 euros issued by the fleet company on November 17, under the name of Cecila Rog\u00e1n-Ga\u00e1l. According to the document, this was the second instalment of the first rental fee for an Audi Q5 luxury vehicle. It is common practice that at the beginning of a long-term rental, the customer pays a bigger amount usually 20-50 percent of the car\u2019s value. This serves as an advance payment and also as a warranty for the fleet. This advance payment also influences the amount of the monthly fee \u2013 in case the client is willing to pay a higher amount at the beginning, the following monthly rental fees will be lower.<\/p>\n The invoice of 12,300 euros, under the name of Cecila Rog\u00e1n-Ga\u00e1l<\/p><\/div>\n There have already been speculations \u2013 at that time unconfirmed \u2013 that the Rog\u00e1ns had been using a Q5. A Facebook montage from 2013 depicted Rog\u00e1n with his Louis Vuitton bag and listed his other alleged high expenses, including a 55.3-thousand-euro \u201cfull extra\u201d Q5. Since the montage was shared by the Milla group supporting former PM Gordon Bajnai, Rog\u00e1n accused Bajnai \u2013 at that time an influential opposition politician \u2013 of spreading lies.<\/p>\n Experts dealing with fleet management told Direkt36 that it was not possible to estimate the value of the cars used by the Rog\u00e1ns without further knowledge about the equipment and the rental contract. The basic price of a Q5 currently starts at 39.4 thousand euros but, depending on the equipment, it could reach 92.3 thousand euros. The monthly rental fee also depends on the length of the rental period, the amount of the advance payment, and yearly mileage.<\/p>\n The Rog\u00e1ns chose this construction despite the fact that long-term rental is one of the most expensive rental options for private individuals. It includes full service and full maintenance, rather designed for companies. For companies, this rental option pays off as they can partly reclaim the VAT paid on the rental, which can result in substantial savings in case a company rents several cars.<\/p>\n The police document showed the vehicle exceeded the allowed speed limit. The customer”s name was ‘Antal Rogan.”<\/p><\/div>\n Private individuals, however, cannot reclaim VAT. Car lease is a better option for them, as at the end of the leasing period, the leaser becomes the owner of the car. According to car market experts \u2013 who asked for anonymity due to the topic\u2019s political sensitivity- it does not make for private individual to choose long-term rental.<\/p>\n Others close to Rog\u00e1n also used Mercarius cars. One of them was Andr\u00e1s Pusk\u00e1s, Rog\u00e1n\u2019s former deputy mayor, who is currently the deputy CEO of the state-owned Budapest Bank. Rog\u00e1n and Pusk\u00e1s maintain close relations \u2013 they led the V. Budapest downtown district together for years, both of them bought apartments in Pasa Park, a luxury residence area, moreover, their wives also bought together a third apartment in that area.<\/p>\n Pusk\u00e1s drove Mercarius\u2019 Audi S3, which is the sports version of A3. This was revealed from official claims declarations related to smaller traffic incidents that happened when Pusk\u00e1s was driving the vehicle in 2009. He listed an S3 in his wealth declaration and stated that he had used it in a long-term rental since 2007. He then bought the car in 2012.<\/p>\n Andras Puskas on the left side<\/p><\/div>\n The documents obtained by us reveal another, relatively unknown official linked to the local government in downtown Budapest. Gergely Moln\u00e1r was a public safety officer during the times when Rog\u00e1n was the mayor of the district. Moln\u00e1r was also a supervisor at a company building the underground garage of the local municipality. He currently heads the public safety division of the local municipality. In December 2008, the fleet company issued an invoice for Moln\u00e1r related to the monthly rental fee of an Audi S3. The amount of the payment including VAT was 775 euros.<\/p>\n Customers of the cars of the fleet company also include Fanny Kaminski, the ex-wife of \u00c1rp\u00e1d Habony, the chief advisor to PM Orb\u00e1n. Kaminski also worked in the press teams of Rog\u00e1n and Orb\u00e1n.<\/p>\n In this case, the rental took place through a company called Brand Lab. This company reportedly rented paintings from the Museum of Fine Arts, to be placed in a downtown Budapest apartment used by Habony<\/a>. Habony\u2019s sister used to be one of the owners of the company. Later, the company was purchased by radio and TV presenter L\u00e1szl\u00f3 J\u00e1ks\u00f3 and his former wife Gabriella Halk\u00f3. (J\u00e1ks\u00f3, who maintains good relations with Habony, later left the company.)<\/p>\n According to a contract from September 2009, Brand Lab rented a Lexus RX450h luxury SUV from Mercarius for monthly 1,130 euros plus VAT. When one of the parking companies contacted the fleet management company in December 2009 with regards to a penalty, in addition to Brand Lab, Fanny Kaminski\u2019s name was also listed as a client. Kaminski, who became known as the person managing the Facebook page of the PM,\u00a0was previously the wife of Habony, and also worked with Rog\u00e1n. The 42.5-euro parking penalty was paid by the fleet company, which then charged Brand Lab.<\/p>\n Mercarius fleet manager company was set up as a family business in 1996 and has grown into an important market player since then. The company, originally called \u00c1go-Stone Ltd., started a spectacular growth after the appearance of new co-owner in 2011. This was SCF Partners Hungary Ltd., which first acquired a 40 percent stake in the company and, in 2016, became the sole owner of the company. SCF has currently two owners: R\u00f3bert Kolesz\u00e1r, heading Mercarius and L\u00e1szl\u00f3 Sz\u0171cs, who, according to his LinkedIn profile, has held leading positions in MET gas trading company previously involved in a controversial state transaction.<\/p>\n In previous years, Mercarius has won several major tenders from state-owned companies, including a contract from MVM electricity company in 2012. It also signed framework contracts with M\u00c1V railway company in the amount of 42.5 million euros in July 2017 and with the state company in charge of Paks nuclear power plant expansion in the amount of 2.5 million euros in December 2017. After this, Hungarian news site 24.hu reported that the company was under Russian influence due to a mortgage from the Russian Sberbank. Direkt36 reported<\/a> that Rosatom, which builds the new Paks blocks, was also probably renting cars from Mercarius.<\/p>\n Thanks to state contracts, the company has grown fivefold in the past years. Its income increased from 2.76 million euros 2011 to 13.8 million euros in 2017.<\/p>\nThe 12,300 euros partial payment<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/direkt36.exot.hu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Rogan_02-2.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/direkt36.exot.hu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Szamla_Cili.png\")
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/direkt36.exot.hu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Rogan_buntete..png\")
Renting paintings in addition to cars<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/direkt36.exot.hu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Pukas.jpg\")
With the help of state tenders<\/h2>\n