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Hungary’s former ruling party, led by Viktor Orbán, has struggled to maintain a united front after police discovered nearly $20 million in cash hidden in forests, barns, warehouses and lockers as part of a corruption investigation against a former government minister.
Tibor Navracsics, a senior official in Orbán’s Fidesz party, said the discovery had created “a deeply worrying and shameful situation in Hungary.”
“Honesty, recognition of what went wrong and fundamental changes are necessary for the political movement that governed the country for 16 years to regain public trust,” Navracsics said on Sunday.
Police began releasing videos of the money collection on Friday evening, marking the latest escalation in Prime Minister Péter Magyar’s crackdown on allegations of corruption during his predecessor Orbán’s long tenure.
The money was discovered as part of an investigation into Miklós Seszták, who was development minister in the Orbán government between 2014 and 2018.
Magyar claimed, following the discovery of the cash, that “Fidesz as a political entity ceased to exist and from this day forward it is officially nothing more than an organized crime group,” adding that “Viktor Orbán is a deposed and terrified mafia boss.”
Other Fidesz officials argued that the onus was on the authorities to prove that the money belonged to Seszták and that it was discovered in the way they claimed – otherwise Magyar would have to resign.
“We need to establish the precise facts, because what we have seen so far in the press looks like a fairy tale and does not seem to be entirely true,” said Bence Tuzson, Orbán’s former justice minister.
Fidesz MEP Tamás Deutsch said his party demanded that “instead of cryptic and insinuating statements” the authorities “immediately provide proof of what really happened.”
“If what they presented is true, of course it is completely unacceptable. Our political community is not like that. That’s not who we are. Fidesz is not like that,” Deutsch added.
The lawyer for Seszták, arrested since September on corruption charges, said the money did not belong to his client.
“The statement issued on Friday (by the police) does not say at all that the money belongs to my client, but only that investigative measures were carried out in the criminal case involving Miklós Seszták, in which there are several suspects besides Seszták himself,” Gábor Papp told the FT.
Seszták has previously denied committing any crime.
Finance Minister András Kármán said it took 12 Treasury officials eight hours to count the cash using five commercial banknote counters.
The money was placed in an escrow account with the Treasury, pending further investigation, Hungary’s National Asset Recovery and Protection Office said.
Hours before police reported the discovery of the cash, Orbán spoke about Magyar’s efforts to put an end to corruption allegations during his term, saying he was ready for any attack and that it was “not the first time I have been hunted.”
He defended his former ministers, including Seszták, calling them “immaculate”. Since then, Orbán has not made any further comments.
Since the Magyars took power in May, a number of other high-profile Orbán allies have also been arrested, including former central bank governor György Matolcsy. Matolcsy has not been charged but remains in custody.
Political analyst Gábor Török said the cash grab could spell the end of Orbán’s party.
“Until now, the only debate was whether ‘desperate’ or ‘appalling’ was the most appropriate description of the former ruling party’s predicament,” Török wrote in a social media post.
“If Fidesz continues (in this way), its fate is almost certainly sealed… Their essential starting point must be to accept what everyone can see.”
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