Nearly $20m found in Hungary’s forests, buildings amid corruption probe

Hungarian authorities recovered nearly $20 million in cash, some hidden in forests or concealed in farm buildings and warehouses, as part of a bribery investigation into Miklos Sesztak, a minister under the former right-wing leader Viktor Orban. Prime Minister Peter Magyar ousted Orban after 16 years in power in an April election, vowing to repair relationships with the European Union, which had been strained by years of conflict during Orban's rule, and initiate a major anti-corruption campaign.

Two former Orban ministers, along with the former central bank chief Gyorgy Matolcsy, are currently in custody on corruption charges in separate probes. They have pleaded not guilty to the allegations. Magyar's administration has also apprehended Orban's brother in connection with a human trafficking case, which the ex-leader claimed was politically motivated.

The crackdown is part of the center-right government's "Operation Purgatory," a corruption-fighting initiative dubbed "very important" by 70% of respondents in a recent Median pollster survey. In the cash seizure, investigators located significant sums of money buried in forests, stored in farm buildings, warehouses, and a residential property, as well as hidden in a safe in a secluded location.

The National Asset Recovery and Protection Office disclosed that it took 12 State Treasury workers eight hours to count the currency, using five banknote counters.

Sesztak, who served as Orban's development minister from 2014 to 2018, has denied any wrongdoing. His lawyer, Gabor Papp, did not respond to a request for comment on the recovery office's statement. Magyar emphasized that the recovered funds marked the end of a "mafia" led by Orban's right-wing Fidesz party and its Christian Democrat allies during Orban's 16-year tenure.

Political scientist Gabor Torok suggested that the striking images of the large cash piles could spell the end for Fidesz, whose public support had plummeted to just 16% of voters by November, down from previous levels before the election, according to a Median survey.