Hungary recovers nearly $20 million in cash in probe of former minister

Hungarian authorities have recovered nearly $20 million in cash during a bribery investigation involving Miklos Sesztak, who served as development minister under former prime minister Viktor Orban. Investigators discovered money buried in forests and concealed in several types of buildings, according to the National Asset Recovery and Protection Office.

In a statement issued late Friday, the office said searches uncovered cash in farm buildings, warehouses and a residential property. Investigators also found money inside a high-value safe at a secluded location. The recovery is part of a broader campaign against alleged corruption launched under Prime Minister Peter Magyar.

Finance Minister Andras Karman said the recovered money comprised 5.07 billion forints, equivalent to $15.33 million, along with €2.66 million, worth $2.93 million, and $1.26 million in US currency. Counting the banknotes required 12 State Treasury employees working for eight hours with five counting machines.

Sesztak, who held the development portfolio from 2014 to 2018, has denied wrongdoing. His lawyer, Gabor Papp, did not reply to an emailed request seeking comment on the asset recovery office's statement. The cash discovery comes as other figures from Orban's time in government face separate investigations.

Two former ministers from Orban's government and former central bank chief Gyorgy Matolcsy are under arrest over graft allegations in separate cases. They have denied wrongdoing. Authorities have also detained Orban's brother in a people-smuggling investigation, a case the former prime minister has characterized as political revenge.

Magyar, a center-right politician, defeated the nationalist Orban in April's election, ending his 16 years in power. Magyar campaigned on promises to investigate alleged corruption and repair Hungary's relationship with the European Union after years of conflict during Orban's rule. He has named his anti-corruption campaign "Operation Purgatory".

A Median poll published this week by the news website HVG found that 70% of respondents regarded the campaign as "very important". Magyar portrayed the recovered cash as evidence of the end of what he called a "mafia" headed by Orban's right-wing Fidesz party and its Christian Democrat allies.

Political scientist Gabor Torok said the striking images of piles of banknotes were likely to spell doom for Fidesz. A Median survey showed the party's support had fallen to 16% of voters by November, half its level before the election.