Hungary Seizes $19.5M in Buried Cash in Ex-Minister Graft Case

Hungary's anti-corruption agency has seized cash worth $19.5m (£14.8m) buried in forests and hidden in farm buildings and safes during a bribery investigation into a former minister from Viktor Orbán's cabinet. The National Asset Recovery and Protection Office (NVVH) announced the seizure on Friday after a two-day search.

The target of the criminal proceedings is Miklós Seszták, Hungary's minister of national development between 2014 and 2018. Prosecutors accuse him of taking bribes in a scheme involving the state transport company, which purchased secondhand buses at inflated prices.

Seszták is not the only Orbán-era figure in custody. Two other former ministers and the ex-premier's brother have also been detained in separate cases as graft inquiries have gathered pace in recent weeks.

How did investigators find the money?

The NVVH, an anti-graft body with sweeping powers set up as part of Prime Minister Péter Magyar's accountability drive, searched several locations on Thursday and Friday.

"During the search, investigators found large amounts of cash: 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's statement said.

The haul breaks down into three currencies:

• 5,071,632,000 forints
• €2,658,350
• US $1,257,100

Combined, the money is worth $19.5m. NVVH staff deposited the cash into the Hungarian State Treasury's account.

Counting it took a small team and most of a working day. "Upon receipt, 12 Treasury employees spent 8 hours counting the money using 5 counting machines," Finance Minister András Kármán said on Facebook.

What does this mean politically?

The seizure lands in the middle of Hungary's sharpest political shift in nearly two decades. Magyar won a landslide election victory in April, ending Orbán's 16 years in power after campaigning on a promise to investigate alleged corruption and abuse of office during his rival's rule.

Magyar framed the discovery as a milestone. "This officially marks the end of the Fidesz-KDNP mafia!" he said, referring to Orbán's former governing coalition.

Orban has not reacted to the latest development. He had previously denounced the probes targeting his inner circle as "political persecution" aimed at imprisoning him.

With Seszták, two other ex-ministers and Orbán's brother now in custody, and a dedicated recovery agency empowered to strip hidden assets, the investigation's pace signals that more seizures and charges could follow as Magyar's government works through the Orbán era's record.