Hungarian authorities have recovered nearly $20 million (17.7 million euros) in hidden money during a corruption investigation into a former minister of former Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
The country’s new National Asset Recovery and Protection Office said Friday that investigators discovered the money during searches linked to former National Development Minister Miklos Sesztak.
The discovery is part of a broader anti-corruption campaign launched by Prime Minister Peter Magyar, who defeated Orban in April’s parliamentary elections.
Where did Hungarian investigators find the hidden money?
The money was discovered during two days of searches in the capital, Budapest, and three Hungarian counties.
Investigators discovered large quantities of cash buried in forests, hidden in farm buildings, warehouses and residential properties, as well as stored in an expensive safe in a remote location.
The money recovered included 5.07 billion Hungarian forints (13.3 million euros, $15.3 million), 2.66 million euros (2.9 million euros) and 1.26 million dollars (1.08 million euros).
According to Finance Minister Andras Karman, 12 employees of the Hungarian State Treasury spent eight hours counting banknotes using five counting machines.
The agency also released a video showing investigators kneeling next to large piles of cash and digging in the ground in what appeared to be a forest at night.
Authorities said the seized money had been deposited into an account belonging to the Hungarian public treasury.
What corruption allegations is former minister Sesztak facing?
Sesztak served as Orban’s national development minister between 2014 and 2018.
He is suspected of accepting more than $37 million (33 million euros) in bribes linked to the purchase of overpriced second-hand buses by state transport companies and public construction projects.
The former minister was taken into police custody at the end of September. He has denied any wrongdoing.
His attorney, Gabor Papp, has so far not responded to a request for comment on the latest discovery.
What was the reaction of Hungarian Prime Minister Magyar?
Magyar described the recovered money as a turning point in his government’s efforts to combat alleged corruption under Orban.
This discovery “officially marks the end of the Fidesz-KDNP mafia,” he wrote on Facebook, referring to Orban’s former government coalition.
“Today, Viktor Orbán is a confirmed mafia boss. A deposed mafia boss. And Fidesz is a criminal organization,” Magyar added.
The centre-right, pro-European Magyar Tisza party won a landslide victory in April, ending Orban’s 16-year rule.
The new prime minister has pledged to repair Hungary’s relations with the European Union, strained by years of conflict under Orban.
His government created an anti-corruption agency with investigative and prosecutorial powers to pursue suspected corruption and misappropriation of public funds.
Who else is being investigated in Hungary’s corruption crackdown?
Magyar dubbed the campaign “Operation Purgatory.”
Several other senior officials from Orban’s time in power have been arrested in separate investigations.
Among them is former central bank governor and economy minister Gyorgy Matolcsy, once considered one of Orban’s closest allies.
Matolcsy is under investigation for alleged misuse of a central bank foundation that received 288 billion forints ($818 million, 787 million euros) in state assets. He and other former officials under investigation have denied any wrongdoing.
Police also arrested Orban’s younger brother earlier this week as part of an investigation into suspected human trafficking and influence peddling.
Orban condemned the investigations as a political “tyranny” aimed at excluding him from the Hungarian political landscape. He described his brother’s detention as an act of political revenge.
According to a survey by the Median survey institute published this week by the HVG news site, 70% of those questioned consider the anti-corruption campaign to be “very important”.
Another median survey showed that support for Orban’s Fidesz party had fallen to 16% of voters in November, about half its level before the April election.
Gn world
