Cash Worth $19.5 Million Found Buried in Hungarian Forests as Ex-Minister Faces Bribe Inquiry
Hungary's anti-corruption agency said on Friday it had seized cash worth $19.5 million that was buried in forests and hidden elsewhere. The agency said the money was recovered as part of an investigation into a former minister.
The man under investigation is Miklós Seszták, who was Hungary's minister of national development between 2014 and 2018. He is accused of taking bribes in a scheme involving the state transport company, purchasing secondhand buses at inflated prices.
The National Asset Recovery and Protection Office (NVVH) said it searched multiple locations on Thursday and Friday as part of the criminal proceedings against Seszták. The NVVH is an anti-graft body with sweeping powers, established as part of Prime Minister Péter Magyar's accountability drive.
In its statement, the agency said investigators found large amounts of cash during the search. The cash was buried in forests, hidden in agricultural and warehouse buildings as well as residential properties, and stored in high-value safes in secluded locations.
The agency gave the exact total found during the two-day search: 5,071,632,000 forints, €2,658,350 and US $1,257,100. Combined, that brought the value to $19.5 million.
The NVVH said its staff deposited the cash into the Hungarian State Treasury's account. Finance Minister András Kármán said on Facebook that, upon receipt, 12 Treasury employees spent 8 hours counting the money using 5 counting machines.
Prime Minister Péter Magyar won a landslide election victory in April, ending Viktor Orbán's 16 years in power. Before the election he had promised to investigate alleged corruption and abuse of office during his rival's rule.
In recent weeks, as graft inquiries have gathered pace, Seszták, two other Orbán-era ministers and the former premier's brother have been taken into custody in different cases.
Magyar hailed the seizure as a potential turning point. He said, 'This officially marks the end of the Fidesz-KDNP mafia,' in reference to Orbán's former governing coalition.
The former leader did not react to the latest development. Orbán had previously denounced the probes targeting his inner circle as 'political persecution' aimed at imprisoning him.
