Hungary Recovers $20 Million Cash in Probe of Orban Minister
Authorities said 12 treasury workers spent eight hours counting the haul after searches uncovered cash buried in forests and hidden in buildings.
- On Friday, Hungarian authorities recovered about $18 million in hidden cash buried in forests and concealed in agricultural buildings as part of an investigation into former National Development Minister Mikl Seszták.
- Seszták is suspected of accepting more than $37.2 million in bribes and kickbacks connected to state vehicle procurements and construction projects during Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's 16 years in office.
- Investigators found "large quantities of cash buried in forests, concealed in agricultural buildings, warehouses and a residential property," with twelve Hungarian State Treasury employees spending eight hours counting the funds.
- Prime Minister Peter Magyar stated the discovery "officially marks the end of the Fidesz-KDNP mafia," calling Orbán a "proven mafia boss" and labeling Fidesz a "criminal organization."
- Orbán, whose far-right Fidesz lost to Magyar's center-right European Tisza in April, has decried these investigations as political "tyranny," while authorities pursue other corruption cases involving the Central Bank governor and alleged misuse of 288 billion forints.
318 Articles
318 Articles
Sydney Morning Herald
Cash found in Hungary in anti-graft probe
Footage from Hungary’s National Asset Recovery and Protection Office
Hungary ' s law enforcement authorities found cash worth $20 million from the former Minister for National Development, Miklos Sixak, who had been arrested on charges of corruption, as reported by the Hungarian MTI agency.
The money, which was distributed in Hungarian dollars, euros and forints, is related to former Minister of National Development Miklós Seszták, accused of having taken bribes. More information: Péter Magyar inaugurates the era of "a free and European Hungary" after 16 years of Viktor Orbán's "criminal regime".
Miklos Sesztak served as Minister of National Development in the third cabinet of then-Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán from 2014 to 2018. He denies the allegations of corruption.
The operation took place on Thursday and Friday in several places in Hungary, notably in a forest where the money was buried, almost 18 million euros in cash. It took at least 12 agents, five banknote-counters and eight hours of work to estimate the amount of the seizure. The target of this campaign, called "Operation Purgatory", is the former minister of Viktor Orbán, suspected of having accepted bribes during his duties. The fight against corr…
Former holder of National Development Miklos Sesztak is in prison accused of having accepted bribes
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