Hungary Recovers Nearly $20 Million Hidden In Forests, Farms In Orban-Era Corruption Probe

Hungarian investigators have seized almost $20 million in cash during a corruption investigation involving Miklos Sesztak, who served as a minister under former prime minister Viktor Orban. Some of the money was found buried in wooded areas, while the rest was concealed in farm buildings and warehouses.

Hungary's new government has launched a broad investigation into alleged corruption during Viktor Orban's 16-year rule.

Prime Minister Peter Magyar, who defeated Orban in the April election, has promised to repair strained relations with the European Union and hold those accused of corruption accountable, according to Reuters.

In a statement late Friday, the National Asset Recovery and Protection Office said: "During the searches, investigators found large amounts of cash buried in forests, hidden in farm buildings, warehouses and a residential property, and stored in a high-value safe in a secluded location."

The investigations have already led to the arrests of two former ministers from Orban's government and former central bank governor Gyorgy Matolcsy in separate graft cases.

All three have denied the allegations. Authorities have also detained Orban's brother in a separate human trafficking case, which the former prime minister has described as politically motivated revenge.

Magyar has named the anti-corruption campaign "Operation Purgatory". It has also received considerable public support, with 70% of respondents calling it "very important" in a survey by pollster Median, published on the news website HVG this week.

Finance Minister Andras Karman said counting the recovered money took 12 State Treasury employees eight hours. They used five banknote-counting machines to process 5.07 billion forints, 2.93 million, and another $1.26 million.

Miklos Sesztak, who served as Orban's development minister from 2014 to 2018, has denied any wrongdoing. His lawyer, Gabor Papp, did not respond to an email seeking comment on the recovery office's statement.

Prime Minister Magyar said the cash recovery marked the end of what he called a "mafia" run by Orban's right-wing Fidesz party and its Christian Democrat allies during his 16 years in power.

Political scientist Gabor Torok said the pictures of the cash piles were so striking that they could prove disastrous for Fidesz. A Median survey showed the party's public support had fallen by half to 16% of voters by November compared with its pre-election levels.