Hungary seizes cash buried in forests in graft probe into ex-minister Seszták

The seizure

The National Asset Recovery and Protection Office, a Hungarian anti-corruption body with broad investigative and prosecutorial powers, said on Friday, 13 November, that it had seized large sums of cash. Its officers searched several locations on Thursday, 12 November, and Friday, 13 November, as part of criminal proceedings against Miklós Seszták, who served as national development minister from 2014 to 2018. Investigators reported cash buried in forests, hidden in buildings used for farming and warehousing, kept in residential properties, and stored in high-value safes in isolated places. The office handed the money to the Hungarian State Treasury, where, according to finance minister András Kármán, 12 employees spent eight hours counting it on five machines.

Totals differ across outlets

The reported total depends on the outlet. The Guardian put it at $19.5m (£14.8m), the Independent at about $18.1m, Bloomberg at close to $20 million, and the French-language outlets Le Soir and La Libre at 17.7 million euros. The office's breakdown listed 5,071,632,000 forints, €2,658,350 and $1,257,100 found over the two days of searches. The sources do not agree on a single total, so the figures above stand as each outlet gave them.

How the case unfolded

Seszták was taken into police custody in late September. Péter Magyar won a landslide election in April, ending Orbán's 16 years in power, and promised to investigate alleged corruption and abuse of office during his rival's rule. Searches began on Thursday, 12 November, and the seizure was announced on Friday, 13 November. The sequence is shown below.

The case against Seszták

Seszták is accused of taking bribes in a scheme involving the state transport company, which bought secondhand buses at inflated prices. He is suspected of accepting more than $37.2 million in bribes and kickbacks tied to vehicle procurement under the state bus company and to state construction projects. The seizure formed part of the criminal proceedings against him. Two other ministers from the Orbán era and the former premier's brother have also been taken into custody in separate cases. These arrests came as graft inquiries gathered pace.

Government reaction

Magyar hailed the seizure as a potential turning point and tied it to Orbán's former ruling coalition. He wrote on Facebook:

“This officially marks the end of the Fidesz-KDNP mafia!”

In the same Facebook post he turned to Orbán personally, saying:

“As of today, Viktor Orbán is a proven mafia boss. A fallen mafia boss.”

Orbán's response

Orbán had not reacted to the latest developments. He had previously denounced the probes into his inner circle as political persecution intended to send him to prison. The case against Seszták remains at the investigation stage, with the seized cash now held in the State Treasury's account.