Hungarian authorities have seized nearly $20 million in cash, including money buried in forests, during a corruption investigation into Miklós Seszták, a former minister under Viktor Orbán.
The National Asset Recovery and Protection Office (NVVH) uncovered the funds on Thursday and Friday during searches in Budapest, Pest, Bekes and Nograd counties, finding 5,071,632,000 forints, 2,658,350 euros and $1,257,100 hidden in forests, warehouses, farm buildings, homes and a high-value safe . Twelve finance ministry employees spent eight hours counting the money with five machines, Finance Minister András Kármán said, and the cash has been deposited with the Hungarian State Treasury . The NVVH released a video showing officers digging up packed boxes of cash from the ground with shovels.
The seizure is part of a criminal probe into Seszták, 58, who served as National Development Minister from 2014 to 2018 under former Prime Minister Orbán and remains a member of parliament for the KDNP party. He was considered Orbán's most important ally in northeastern Hungary and was arrested in September after parliament lifted his immunity; he remains in pre-trial detention. Prosecutors allege he accepted roughly €34 million in bribes in exchange for favoring companies in state bus procurement involving the company Volan and in construction contracts, allegations he denies .
Prime Minister Péter Magyar, who ousted Orbán in April after 16 years in power, wrote on Facebook that the find marked "the official end of the Fidesz-KDNP mafia" and that the party was "nothing more than an organized criminal association" . Orbán responded on his own page that "this is not our political community, this is not us, this is not Fidesz" . Fidesz faction leader János Boka urged Seszták to resign his parliamentary seat.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk mocked Orbán on X, writing: "Dear Victor, I've always been an admirer of your creativity, but now I must say I'm impressed as never before," referencing the cash discovery . Magyar's Tisza Party won the April election on promises to combat corruption, leading to the creation of the NVVH. Since taking office, his government has arrested three former ministers, including Seszták. Fidesz, which won 39 percent of the vote in April, now polls at 20 percent .
