Hungarian authorities say they have found nearly $20m (£14.8m) in cash hidden in farm buildings and buried in forests as part of an investigation into a former minister of Viktor Orbán. The money was located during a two-day search across the country and has since been deposited into the state treasury.
Miklós Seszták served as minister of national development for four of Orbán’s 16 years in power. He is accused of accepting bribes linked to a scheme involving the state transport company, and he has denied any wrongdoing. On Friday, Prime Minister Péter Magyar described the discovery as the end of the “mafia”.
Cash found in safes, woodlands and warehouses
Investigators found wads of banknotes in safes, buried in woodland and hidden in agricultural and residential buildings and warehouses, the National Asset Recovery and Protection Office (NVVH) said in a statement. The agency said the seized money amounted to 5,071,632,000 forints, €2,658,350 and $1,257,100, a combined value of $19.5m.
The NVVH was set up to investigate alleged corruption during Orbán’s rule. Magyar has dubbed the wider effort “Operation Purgatory”. He won a landslide election in April on a promise of a sweeping anti-corruption drive, and has since moved to undo many Orbán-era policies.
Corruption claims against Orbán and his allies
Allegations of corruption and cronyism have long dogged Orbán, whose government faced accusations of offering lucrative state projects to allies. The EU has characterised Hungary under his leadership as an “electoral autocracy”. Orbán has strongly denied the claims.
Two former ministers, including Seszták, and former central bank chief Gyorgy Matolcsy have been under arrest since September over graft accusations in separate investigations. All of them deny wrongdoing. On Monday, authorities also detained Orbán’s brother and three others in a people-smuggling case.
Orbán has dismissed the cases as political revenge. “In this dirty game, the aim is the elimination of the political opponent and the establishment of a one-party system,” he said, adding: “I am the target, my younger brother is just a tool.”
