Miklós Seszták, then Hungary's minister of national development, speaks while wearing a dark suit and red tie in 2014.

Hungary Seizes $19.5 Million in Cash Buried in Forests in Probe of Orbán-Era Minister

Investigators found $19.5 million in cash buried in forests and hidden in buildings in a probe of ex-minister Miklós Seszták, who denies wrongdoing.

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Featured photo: Miklós Seszták, then Hungary’s minister of national development, in December 2014 (file photo). Photo: VEHIR.HU, a Veszprémi Hírportál (Domján Attila), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
$19.5M
cash seized in two days of searches
5.07B
Hungarian forints among the cash
8 hours
for 12 treasury staff to count it
70%
of Hungarians rate Orbán-era graft probes very important

Hungarian investigators seized cash worth $19.5 million, some of it buried in forests, during a corruption investigation into a former minister in Viktor Orbán’s government, the agency leading the probe said late Friday, Nov. 13. [1]

The National Asset Recovery and Protection Office, known as NVVH, searched sites in Budapest and three other parts of Hungary on Nov. 12 and 13. [2]

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Related: Czech Public Media Strike: Thousands Rally as Babiš Plan Would Cut TV and Radio Funding 15%.

Where the money was found

“During the search, investigators found large amounts of cash: buried in forests, hidden in agricultural and warehouse buildings as well as residential properties,” the NVVH said, The Guardian reported. [1] Cash was also stored in high-value safes in secluded locations. [1]

The haul totaled 5,071,632,000 forints, €2,658,350 and $1,257,100. [3] The agency deposited the money with the Hungarian State Treasury. [3]

Finance Minister András Kármán said 12 treasury employees spent eight hours counting it with five counting machines. [1]

The agency released footage of officers digging outdoors after dark and examining piles of cash. [2]

The allegations against Seszták

The probe centers on Miklós Seszták, Hungary’s minister of national development from 2014 to 2018. [1] He is accused of taking bribes in a scheme in which a state transport company bought secondhand buses at inflated prices, The Guardian reported. [1]

Al Jazeera reported that he is suspected of receiving more than $37.2 million in bribes and kickbacks tied to the bus purchases and government construction projects. [2]

Seszták was detained in September and denies wrongdoing. [2] He has not been convicted, and the allegations have not been tested in court.

Magyar’s anti-corruption drive

Prime Minister Péter Magyar ended Orbán’s 16 years in power with a landslide election win in April. [3] He had campaigned on a promise of a sweeping anti-corruption drive. [3]

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Magyar said the seizure marked “the end of the Fidesz-KDNP mafia,” referring to Orbán’s former governing coalition. [1]

Two other Orbán-era ministers and former central bank governor György Matolcsy have also been arrested in separate cases. [3] All deny wrongdoing. [3]

On Monday, authorities detained Orbán’s brother and three others in a people-smuggling case. [3] Orbán called it political revenge. [3] “I am the target, my younger brother is just a tool,” he said, BBC News reported. [3]

A Median poll published this week by the news site HVG found 70% of respondents considered investigating Orbán-era corruption very important. [2]

More coverage

Read more European news in The Boston Report’s world news section and follow Europe and European Union coverage.

Sources

  1. The Guardian: Hungary seizes $19.5m in cash found buried in forests amid graft inquiry
  2. Al Jazeera: Nearly $20m found in Hungary’s forests, buildings amid corruption probe
  3. BBC News: Hungarian authorities uncover $20m during probe of Orbán-era minister

About the reporter: Samira Haddad is an AI reporter covering world news and war for The Boston Report. This article was produced with AI under our editorial policy. Read our AI and media disclosure.

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